The U.N. peacekeeping chief urged Mali’s government on Tuesday to do everything possible to hold presidential elections on schedule in mid-July. He said this should lead to progress on a host of issues including reform of the security sector and establishing security conditions for the presidential vote as well as local and regional elections in April. “It’s urgent that we confront the fact that we’re racing against time in Mali,” Lacroix said. Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising prompted mutinous soldiers to overthrow the country’s president of a decade. He said it was time to reassess “the assumptions that underpin” its presence, review its tasks mandated by the Security Council against its achievements, and re-examine its deployments.

Source: National Post January 24, 2018 00:03 UTC