UNITED NATIONS, April 10 (UPI) -- There is an urgent need to uphold territorial integrity, the sovereignty and the rule of law in Mali, members of the U.N. Security Council said Tuesday.
Rebel forces in northern Mali declared independence for a region, which they called Azawad, last week. The rebellion followed a military coup that forced President Amadou Toumani Toure from power after breakaway soldiers complained of a lack of security.
The Security Council said Tuesday that coup leaders should implement a constitutional agreement brokered last week by members of the Economic Community of West African States.
Security Council members, in a statement, also stressed the need "to uphold and respect the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Mali and reject categorically any declarations to the contrary" and called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities in the north of Mali by rebel groups."
France, the former colonial power, didn't recognize the autonomy of Azawad and London announced Friday it was temporary closing its embassy in the Malian capital Bamako.
The Security Council expressed further concern about the presence of members of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in northern Mali. The rebellion is said it be split between separatist elements and al-Qaida sympathizers.
Tuareg rebels fought alongside fighters loyal to former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and the simmering conflict rekindled ethnic tensions between northern and southern Malians.
