The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 31 July 2017 today, while encouraging the divided island nation’s leaders to “grasp the current opportunity” of recent progress in negotiations to secure a comprehensive settlement of the dispute between them.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process said authorities must cooperate to resolve the electricity crisis in Gaza, noting that he is closely following the tense situation unfolding mid-winter after 2 million Palestinians can access only two hours of electric power daily.
This morning the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations briefed the Security Council on Darfur. Although there been a decrease in armed conflict in Darfur, he said, civilians had remained exposed to significant sources of insecurity such as intercommunal conflict and criminality.
