UNITED NATIONS, July 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called for efforts to maintain peace and stability and to improve the security situation in West Africa and the Sahel.

During this year, Gambia will hold general elections and Mali has reached a critical stage of political transition. The international community should encourage relevant parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation, encourage the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to continue to play a leading role, while respecting the sovereignty and ownership of the regional countries when providing constructive support, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

Since the beginning of this year, the situation in West Africa and the Sahel has been generally stable, he told the Security Council in a meeting on the work of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel.

Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Benin have completed their general elections and formed new governments. Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo and others have actively promoted political dialogue. ECOWAS is active in maintaining regional peace and stability by participating in mediation efforts in Mali. China appreciates these developments, he said.

However, the security situation in the region remains fragile with frequent terrorist attacks and violent incidents, resulting in a large number of civilian casualties, said Dai.

"The international community should continue to support countries in the region to enhance capacity in maintaining peace and stability and countering terrorism, and encourage them to strengthen security cooperation by jointly addressing cross-border security challenges, such as piracy and drug trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea," he said. "At the same time, it is necessary to adopt integrated policies to treat both the symptoms and the root causes, and to tackle the problems at the source."

In the current situation, it is important to help relevant countries restore state authority, improve governance, promote economic and social development, and provide security guarantees to people and allow them to share the fruits of poverty reduction and development so as to counter the infiltration and influence of extremism and terrorism, he said. Enditem

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