January 16, 2019 – France on Wednesday threatened to push for more targeted sanctions to be imposed on Mali after hearing a UN official report on worsening violence in the West African country. The Security Council last month put three individuals linked to armed groups on a UN sanctions blacklist, the first Malian nationals to be hit by a global travel ban and assets freeze. The peace deal has failed to stop violence by Islamist militants, who have also staged attacks in Burkina Faso, Niger and against UN peacekeepers. The worsening violence has led to “a dramatic increase in displaced persons by 75 per cent in December 2018, compared with June 2018,” said Keita. More than 13,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Mali as part of a UN mission that was established after Islamist militias seized northern Mali in 2012.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 16, 2019 17:48 UTC