French President Francois Hollande is expected to announce a decision Friday on Mali's request for help to counter a military advance by radical Islamist forces pushing south toward the capital.Diplomatic sources say Hollande will address the issue at a mid-morning New Year's speech to diplomats in Paris. Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore has asked France, the country's former colonial ruler, for help in stopping the rebel advance.
The U.N. Security Council held an emergency session late Thursday to discuss the Mali crisis. It released a statement saying the advance threatens the "stability and integrity" of Mali and "constitutes a direct threat to international peace and security."
Related - Mali President Seeks French Help Against Militant Advance
The Council session came just hours after Islamist militants seized the town of Konna, more than 400 kilometers northeast of the capital, Bamako, from government troops.
The militant group Ansar Dine said its fighters took control of Konna Thursday morning -- a move that residents later confirmed with VOA's French to Africa Service. The takeover places the militant force within about 25 kilometers of the major government frontline town of Mopti.
As tensions mount, the Bamako government ordered all schools closed in the capital and the nearby garrison town of Kati until further notice. The order, which covers kindergarten through university, came as state television broadcast a statement saying in part that the country faces "one of the direst periods in its history." It urged all citizens "to unite behind the army in the fight to take back the north."
Related - Malian Schools in Capital Close Amid Tensions
Talks scheduled for Thursday between Mali's government and the armed groups in the north have been postponed in the wake of the fighting.
Last month, the U.N. Security Council approved a plan for West African states to deploy at least 3,000 troops to Mali to help train the army and retake the north.
Al-Qaida-linked groups took control of Mali's north soon after renegade soldiers overthrew the government last March.
No foreign troops are expected in Mali until September of this year, but the Malian government says it wants the intervention to happen as soon as possible.
The U.N. Security Council held an emergency session late Thursday to discuss the Mali crisis. It released a statement saying the advance threatens the "stability and integrity" of Mali and "constitutes a direct threat to international peace and security."
Related - Mali President Seeks French Help Against Militant Advance
The Council session came just hours after Islamist militants seized the town of Konna, more than 400 kilometers northeast of the capital, Bamako, from government troops.
The militant group Ansar Dine said its fighters took control of Konna Thursday morning -- a move that residents later confirmed with VOA's French to Africa Service. The takeover places the militant force within about 25 kilometers of the major government frontline town of Mopti.
As tensions mount, the Bamako government ordered all schools closed in the capital and the nearby garrison town of Kati until further notice. The order, which covers kindergarten through university, came as state television broadcast a statement saying in part that the country faces "one of the direst periods in its history." It urged all citizens "to unite behind the army in the fight to take back the north."
Related - Malian Schools in Capital Close Amid Tensions
Talks scheduled for Thursday between Mali's government and the armed groups in the north have been postponed in the wake of the fighting.
Last month, the U.N. Security Council approved a plan for West African states to deploy at least 3,000 troops to Mali to help train the army and retake the north.
Al-Qaida-linked groups took control of Mali's north soon after renegade soldiers overthrew the government last March.
No foreign troops are expected in Mali until September of this year, but the Malian government says it wants the intervention to happen as soon as possible.