UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- UN officials on Tuesday called on the international community to contribute vital resources to the deployment of a new UN mission in Mali, in a bid to ensure that the world body can support the country in the national reconciliation process.
Briefing the Security Council by video-link from the capital city, Bamako, Bert Koenders, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Mali, called on member states to contribute " critical and immediate" resources, military and police personnel, and key enablers to the new UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
Meanwhile, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous, told the Security Council that the UN is still seeking pledges for important outstanding capabilities, including helicopters, intelligence, information operations and special forces.
"We count on the continued support of both our traditional and new troop-contributing countries to help us fill these critical shortfalls," said Ladsous.
In April, the Security Council approved a 12,600-strong UN peacekeeping operation to take over from the African-led mission in Mali (AFISMA). MINUSMA is tasked with supporting the political process in the West African country, which is recovering from a conflict between government forces and Tuareg rebels that uprooted hundreds of thousands of people since January 2012.
The transfer of responsibility from the AFISMA to MINUSMA is expected to take place on July 1, when the bulk of the military units in the former will be transferred to the latter. MINUSMA would then become the third largest UN peacekeeping mission.
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