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The UN Secretary General, António Guterres explained that his snub on Mali during this week’s West Africa tour was because his itinerary was meant to reward those making progress in fighting terrorism.
Guterres visited Senegal, Niger and Nigeria in his annual Ramadan solidarity visits to nations.
“This visit was a reward to those that are doing better in relation to the fight against terrorism because this was my annual visit of solidarity with Ramadan and it is a visit in solidarity with victims of terrorism,” Guterres said.
Relations between Mali’s military rulers and Western countries have deteriorated over the years after two recent coups.
Mali has the UN’s biggest peacekeeping contingent.
