UN Security Council: End violence in Mali

Mali's crisis deepened Wednesday, as officials in the northern city of Timbuktu confirmed that the Islamic rebel faction that seized control of the town over the weekend has announced it will impose sharia law.

Rebels in the Mali's distant north have taken advantage of the power vacuum created last month when renegade soldiers in the capital of Bamako overthrew the nation's democratically elected leader. In the chaos that followed the March 21 coup, they advanced on strategic towns in the north, including the ancient city of Timbuktu, located over 1,000 kilometers from the capital.

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday condemned the military coup, calling for the immediate restoration of constitutional rule.The world body issued a statement urging all parties in Mali to engage in political dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. US diplomat at the UN, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, said violence in the west African nation should he halted immediately: “The Security Council strongly condemens the continued attacks, looting, and seisure of territory carried out by rebel groups in the north of Mali, and demands an immediate cessation of hostilities. The Council is alarmed by the presence in the region of the terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb which could lead to a destabilisation of the security situation.”

Once one of the most stable democracies in West Africa, Mali has been in turmoil since military leaders seized control of the government. Since then, the United States, France and the European Union have cut all but essential humanitarian assistance to the country, and an embargo imposed earlier this week by Mali's neighbors closed Mali's borders except for humanitarian aid.

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