Mali Extends State Of Emergency Until March 2017

Mali’s government has announced that they have extended the country’s current state of emergency by eight months, as new violence flared up in certain areas of the country over the weekend.

The state of emergency will now be in place until the 29th of March 2017.

The decision to extended the state of emergency was backed by various lawmakers at a special sitting of the National Assembly.

The state of emergency allows greater power for security forces around the country and also restricts public gatherings, which could be security risk.

Mali has been implementing a state of emergency since November last year when jihadi attackers attacked the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, killing 20 people.

Dozens of locals also took the streets of Bamako over the weekend, marching in the support of the government and the security forces and to call for peace.

Interior minister, Abdoulaye Idrissa Maiga, told lawmakers that the state of emergency was put in place to ensure more stability for the country.

“…I want to reassure that the state of emergency contributes to the stability of the country,” he said.