MALI / KONNA MARKET PATROL

The market of Konna re-opened in late 2013 following violence that forced civilians to flee, devastating the local economy. Since then, regular joint patrols by United Nations Police and Malian Security Forces helped build confidence among local community and contribute to durable peace in the area that is better known as the new epicenter of Mali’s six-year conflict. MINUSMA

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:29
• Production Date: 27 December 2018
• Asset Language: French
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN MALI - MINUSMA
• Subject Topical: PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS; TERRORISM
• Geographic Subject: MALI
• MAMS Id: 2342417
• Parent Id: 2342417
• Alternate Title: unifeed181227b

Description

STORY: MALI / KONNA MARKET PATROL
TRT: 2:29
SOURCE: MINUSMA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH /BAMBARA /NATS

DATELINE: 20 DECEMBER 2018, KONNA, MALI

Shotlist

1. Aerial shot, Konna market
2. Various shots, UNPOL and Malian police patrolling
3. Various shots, UNPOL officers talking to vendors
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Beman Sanogo, UNPOL Patrol Commander,
"The market is a very important activity for the economic development of the region, it allows locals to travel and exchange products during the market day. In keeping with our mandate of protecting civilians, we [UNPOL] come to secure the market but also to exchange and talk to the population to understand their challenges.”
5. Various shots, people in market
6. SOUNBITE (Bambara) Djeneba Kassogue, seller of fruit and cold drinks:
“Business is good nowadays, we are coming here to sell every Thursday. With no fear any more. I am happy to see the peacekeepers and our Malian Security Forces here. It reassures me, and I feel protected from the road cutters.”
7. Tracking shot, Blue Helmet walking through market

Storyline

Shoppers navigate through noisy improvised street filled with goods and merchants, their flip flops slap the dusty ground, as they move between the stalls offering fish, cattle, cereals, dried onions, yams, dates, meat, tea, wood, fruits and vegetables.

“Business is good nowadays, we are coming here to sell every Thursday. With no fear any more. I am happy to see the peacekeepers and our Malian Security Forces here. It reassures me, and I feel protected from the road cutters”, says Djeneba Kassogue, a seller of fruits and cold drinks from Mopti.

She remembers how she braved the 65 kilometers road leading to Konna three years ago, in permanent fear to be robbed. Since the market is now secured and fully functioning, this seller of fruits and cold drinks is now able to support her family of three children.

The market of Konna re-opened in late 2013 following violence that forced civilians to flee, devastating the local economy. Since then, regular joint patrols by United Nations Police (UNPOL) and Malian Security Forces helped build confidence among local community and contribute to durable peace in the area that is better known as the new epicenter of Mali’s six-year conflict.

The unprecedented scale of violence that started in 2012 led to widespread displacement and recurrence of human rights violations against civilians living in this area. The violence started when separatist Tuareg rebels seized large parts of the north of Mali, following a military coup in the capital, Bamako, forcing thousands to flee.

The upsurge of inter-community conflicts between the Fulani herders and the Dogon and Bambara farmers, and intra-community conflicts among the Fulani, combined with the attacks by violent extremist groups all contributed to deepen the instability. More than 1,500 violent incidents caused the death 1,323 civilians killed and injured 611 just in Central Mali since January 2017.

The gradual improvement in security since the arrival of the United Nations peacekeepers has seen the local economy slowly begin to pick up in the remote town of 36,000 people in the center of Mali.