"Directly assisting offensive military actions would also place our civilian personnel in the region in jeopardy. I take this issue very seriously," Ban said.

[link to www.presstv.ir]

This is big news. The UN has taken a front seat role in Africa for decades. Since the end of the colonial era, Western powers have almost exclusively acted through the UN to influence Africa. Now, it looks like the UN is simply backing off, permitting free-ranging over Western Africa by France and its allies.