U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said talks should be held as soon as possible on deploying a U.N. peacekeeping force in Mali, where French-led forces are pursuing rebels ousted from cities in the north. “The idea of deploying United Nations peacekeeping operations, transforming this African-led support mission in Mali, AFISMA, is now being seriously discussed," the secretary-general told a news conference in Geneva. “Since I have received a letter from interim President [Dioncounda] Traore requesting me and the Security Council to deploy the U.N. peacekeeping operation, I think this should be discussed as soon as possible," Ban said.
