UN chief warns of weakening security in Mali
Ban Ki-moon has said that security is deteriorating in Mali amid increasing terrorist activity.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is warning that security is deteriorating in northern Mali amid increasing terrorist activity, and he urges United Nations member states to provide military transport helicopters for U.N. troops to use across the vast region.
In a report to the Security Council circulated this week, Ban cites an upsurge in attacks by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa against U.N., French and Malian forces using rockets and improvised explosive devices. One rocket attack was in the fabled town of Timbuktu.
The U.N. chief says abductions and banditry contribute to a climate of fear.
Mali was divided in two for nearly a year by Islamic extremists.
Ban also urges all parties to grasp a "historic chance" to promote national reconciliation.
