14 August 2017 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the terrorist attack carried out yesterday in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

&#8220The Secretary-General stresses that there can be no justification for such acts of indiscriminate violence,&#8221 said his Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, in a statement.

Further to the statement, Mr. Guterres extended his heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of Burkina Faso and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.&#8221

Media reports suggest that gunmen killed nearly 20 people and wounded several others during an overnight attack on a restaurant in Burkina Faso’s capital.

The Secretary-General reiterated the UN’s support to Burkina Faso in its fight against violent extremism and terrorism.

&#8220He also reaffirms the Organization’s commitment to the countries of the G5 Sahel as they scale up efforts to tackle multiple security challenges in order to promote peace and development in the sub-region,&#8221 concluded the statement, referring to the so-called Group of Five (G5) countries &#8211 Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger &#8211 that have deployed a joint force to tackle the threat of terrorism, as well as the serious challenges posed by transnational organized crime in Africa’s restive Sahel region.

14 August 2017 – More than one in ten people living in rural areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are hungry due to escalating and prolonged conflict and displacement, United Nations agencies today reported, warning that the situation will worsen unless urgent support comes in time.

“7.7 million people face acute hunger&#8211 a 30 percent increase over the last year,&#8221 said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said.

In a new report, the UN agencies said that between June last year and June this year, the number of people in &#8220emergency&#8221 and &#8220crisis&#8221 levels of food insecurity &#8211 levels that precede &#8220famine&#8221 &#8211 rose by 1.8 million, from 5.9 million to 7.7 million.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today also notes that the humanitarian situation has worsened due to the spread of fall armyworm infestations, and cholera and measles outbreaks.

In conflict-ridden areas, over 1.5 million people are facing &#8220emergency&#8221 levels of food insecurity according to the IPC report, which means people are forced to sell everything they have and skip or reduce their meals.

&#8220In conflict-ridden areas, farmers have seen their villages and fields pillaged. They have not been able to plant for the last two seasons. There is a lack of local markets providing for their food needs,&#8221 said Alexis Bonte, FAO Representative ad interim in DRC.

&#8220The situation is set to get worse if urgent support does not come in time.&#8221

Farmers, especially those displaced &#8211 the majority of whom are women and children &#8211 are in urgent food aid, as well as in need of tools and seeds so that they can resume farming, the UN agencies said.

In several areas, people only eat once a day. The meal is often based on corn, cassava or potatoes, which does not meet their daily nutritional and calorie needs.

&#8220In some cases, diets are limited to starches and leaves,&#8221 FAO and WFP said.

Chronic malnutrition affects 43 per cent of children under five &#8211 more than 7 million &#8211 in DRC, according to the report.

The situation is particularly difficult in the Kasai region, where growing insecurity has worsened the poverty and food insecurity.

&#8220FAO and WFP call for an urgent increase in the provision of lifesaving food and specialized nutrition assistance to combat malnutrition as well as seeds and tools so that farmers can plant again and regain their livelihoods,&#8221 the UN agencies said.