[allAfrica] Cape Town -- Peacekeeping operations have played a crucial role in stabilising fragile situations across Africa for more than 60 years. United Nations (UN)-led missions in Africa and about 27 African-led peace support operations since 2000 incurred billions of dollars annually and cost thousands of peacekeepers' lives. Now Somalia, Mali and the DR Congo face significant security vacuums, which will undermine safety and worsen humanitarian conditions, the Institute for Security Studies reports.