MALI: Mali Fighters Set To Be Sanctioned By UN

The UN Security Council has demanded an immediate halt to an upsurge in fighting in Mali and has threatened to impose sanctions against those responsible for the violence.

The 15-member council said on Friday that renewed fighting this week "threatens to undermine the peace process" and "demanded that the hostilities cease immediately".

A peace deal is due to be signed in the Malian capital, Bamako, on May 15.

Armed fighters from the Movement of Azawad reportedly entered a northen Mali town on Thursday, AFP news agency reports.

"More than 50 armed men from the Coordination for the Movements of Azawad (CMA) came Thursday to sow terror in Bintagoungou. They killed a man and took six hostages with them," said Hama Aboubacrine, mayor of the town about 90km to the west of Timbuktu.

"Everyone knows each other here. [The attackers] had a CMA flag," added the mayor.