The United Nations Security Council has expressed concern about the reported military movements of rebel groups in northern Mali. “We ask the Malian rebel groups to abide by Security Council Resolutions 2071 and 2085 calling for them to cut off all ties with terrorist organizations," spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters at U.N. headquarters last night. Northern Mali has been occupied by militants after fighting broke out in January 2012 between government forces and Tuareg rebels. More than 410,000 people have been forced to flee the country's north, and an estimated 5 million people have been affected by the conflict, according to UN figures. In December, the Security Council authorized the deployment of an international military force—the African-led International Support Mission in Mali, to be known as AFISMA—for an initial period of one year. That force has yet to be deployed.
