Mali\'s MNLA demand end to conflict

Malian rebel group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) has demanded the deployment of international peacekeeping forces, in a formal request to the United Nations Security Council on Monday. A statement released by the group backed a previous French proposal for the UN to take over security efforts in the region. Peacekeeping forces would “help end the genocide committed against Arabs and Tuaregs by the Malian army,” the MNLA claimed, on top of halting the spread of radical Islamist militias in the north of the country. France had lodged a request with the UN on February 6 to consider deploying peacekeeping troops in Mali following a French evacuation from the West African country. French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud revealed the Security Council’s 15 member states were currently considering the proposal. There are now 4,600 French troops taking part in an operation, which began on January 11, to root out Islamist militias controlling much of northern Mali. French forces are being supported by a combined force of African and Western states, including logistical and intelligence support from Britain and the United States.