Mali asks UN for rapid response force to deal with jihadist attacks in the north

Mali has requested that the UN send more troops, specifically a rapid intervention force, to fight Islamist militants after recent attacks on UN peacekeepers in the north of the country.

The Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told the UN Security Council that the rapid intervention force was needed following the killing of a Senegalese soldier only days after nine peacekeepers had been killed. Diop warned that northern Mali again ran "the risk of becoming the destination of hordes of terrorists." Both French and African troops occupied northern Mali in January 2013 after radical jihadists who captured most of the north threatened to move south towards the capital Bamako.While the rebels were driven out of the main towns in the north, they continue attacks against the UN force that is designed to stabilize the situation.
The 9,000-member UN force, MINUSMA, took over peacekeeping back in July of last year. Since the mission was established 31 peacekeepers have been killed and 91 wounded according to the chief of the mission Herve Ladsous. The attacks were by rockets, mortar shells, suicide attacks, and ambushes. He said that the mission was to receive combat helicopters and drones in the coming months.
 The Tuareg who were originally driven out of the north by jihadists were able to gain control of the town of Kidal and after presidential polls were held have been holding peace talks in Algeria that are attempting to settle how the north should be governed.
In some areas such as the exotic town of Timbuktu, at least journalists and UN workers are returning and help out the local economy. In February of 2013 the Hotel La Colombe (Dove Hotel) re-opened. During occupation by the jihadists the hotel had been closed. Hotel manager Mohamed Toure could not believe that a group of Westerners wanted to stay in the hotel where nothing was working. While it took a while to improve conditions the journalists were able to enjoy a treat, foreign beer, that had been buried when the Islamists banned alcohol and was now dug up. Toure said that since the journalists had arrived he was able to provide his family three meals a day instead of one.
An officer from Niger with the MINUSMA mission claimed that the al-Qaeda-linked militia Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa(MUJAO) mounted the attack. The attackers were on motorbikes and ambushed the peacekeepers from Niger. A statement from MINUSMA said it was the worst attack yet against the Mali mission.