Malian officials on Thursday extended the state of emergency in the country by another year.
The state of emergency has been in place since November 2015. It was imposed after a deadly attack on a top hotel in the capital Bamako killing 20 people.
The state of emergency was due to expire at the end of this month but the Malian cabinet decided to approved the extension.
In a statement the government said the extension will allow officials to “reinforce preventive measures to prevent the threat of attacks on people and their goods.”
The government is also hoping the extension buys it more tie to deal with continues violence in the parts of the country.
The Sahel state has been gripped with violence since 2012. Tuareg rebels have been staging an uprising in northern Mali.
Jihadists hve exploited the situation to take control of key cities.
Mali’s President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita who recently won re-election has promised to prioritize tackling the surge in violence in his country.
He however continues to struggle to address the worsening state of insecurity in the west African nation.
Source: Africafeeds.com
