UNITED NATIONS, August 30. /TASS/. Much of the Western weapons provided to Ukraine end up in Africa’s Sahel region, fueling crime and terrorism, Mali’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Issa Konfourou said.

"We asked for an opportunity to take part in this meeting in order to highlight a serious concern regarding the impact of weapons supplies to Ukraine," he pointed out at a UN Security Council meeting. "It has been clearly established that a significant portion of weapons provided to Ukraine are eventually used for fueling terrorism and crime in Sahel, which increases the risk of further instability," the diplomat added.

"We urge the countries providing weapons to Ukraine to guarantee that these weapons will not fall into the hands of terrorists and extremist groups active in Africa. Mali is unwilling to be an arena for proxy-wars between global powers," Konfourou stressed.

On July 25-27, militants attacked Malian army units in the Tinzaouaten region in the country’s northwest, making them suffer great losses. Spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate Andrey Yusov said soon thereafter that Kiev was involved in the attack carried out by terrorist groups. Mali, and later Niger, announced the termination of diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to its support for terrorists.