Mali ceasefire must be implemented: UN

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for the immediate implementation of a ceasefire agreement to end the unrest in northern Mali.

In a report to the UN Security Council (UNSC), Ban said that the continuation of violence since last month had led to “an altered security landscape in the north of Mali with risks for international security.”

On May 23, the Tuareg fighters, who still control the northern town of Kidal, and the Malian government signed a ceasefire agreement brokered by the African Union (AU).

Under the ceasefire deal, both sides were committed to returning to an agreement signed last June, which requires the Tuareg to keep their fighters stationed prior to disarmament, a commitment they have not lived up to.

The UN chief said that the unrest posed a significant threat to civilians, UN peacekeepers, and the delivery of humanitarian aid. He warned that “in the absence of a political process, terrorist groups will seize opportunities to target Malian and international forces, and threaten civilians in the north.”

This comes days after a bomb explosion at a camp in Kidal killed four UN peacekeepers.

Chaos broke out in Mali after President Amadou Toumani Toure was toppled in a military coup in March 2012. The coup leaders said they mounted the coup in response to the government’s inability to contain the Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country.

The violence continues despite the intervention of French troops last year and their ongoing presence in Mali.