UN to Set Up Sanctions in Mali as Peace Talks Fail

The UN Security Council on Wednesday agreed to consider setting up a sanctions regime for Mali to punish those who are hindering a struggling peace deal, the council president said.

The council discussed the faltering peace effort in Mali after a car bomb killed 50 people in the northern city of Gao in an attack on joint patrols set up under the agreement.

The United Nations is pushing for full implementation of the peace accord signed in June 2015 between the Malian government and rebel groups aimed at ending years of fighting in the north.

Mali regained control of the north after a French-led military intervention in January 2013 drove out jihadists, but insurgents remain active across large parts of the region.

The proposed sanctions regime would set up a mechanism to allow individuals and entities to be blacklisted by the United Nations. Targeted sanctions include a global travel ban and an assets freeze.

The United Nations has deployed 13,000 troops in Mali to serve in the MINUSMA force, but they have repeatedly been targeted in attacks.