Mali declares 10-day state of emergency

BAMAKO, Mali

Malian authorities have declared a national 10-day state of emergency starting on Monday night as the security situation across the West African country is deteriorating, the government said late on Monday.

The decision was taken after an extraordinary cabinet meeting in the Malian capital Bamako chaired by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, according to a statement that was read on the Malian National Television, ORTM on Monday night.

"The state of emergency aims to give authorities the legal means to allow them better identify and combat any project threatening people's safety, and any attempt to disturb the people’s tranquility," the statement said.

A 10-day state of emergency was also declared on Nov/ 21, after a hostage crisis at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako left at least 19 people dead including several foreigners. Since then, the Malian authorities have been on alert. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by al-Qaeda terrorists based in the north of the country.

In recent years, Mali has been hit by a number of attacks launched by insurgents operating from its northern desert territory.

A French-led 2013 military operation succeeded in driving fighters out of cities and towns taken a year earlier in the north of the country. France still has troops based in the west African country.

But several militant groups are nonetheless active in the northern part of the country, despite a peace agreement signed between the Malian government and Tuareg rebel groups last June. The Tuareg are an ethnic group living in the northern region of Mali.