FILE - In this Oct.18, 2012 file photo, a man carries a sign reading "No to the destructive soldiers of ECOWAS" as Malians opposed to a military intervention to retake Mali's Islamist-controlled north march in the streets of the capital, Bamako, Mali. France is moving surveillance drones to western Africa amid rising concerns that an al-Qaida offshoot and its allies who control northeast Mali represent a major threat to French interests abroad and possibly at home. With six French hostages held by Islamic militants in the region, France is facing a delicate task, but has garnered support from other Western powers including the United States to keep Mali from becoming a new launchpad for global terrorism. (AP Photo/Harouna Traore, File)
UN: Mali's security improving, aid badly needed
Published: 08:52:46 PM, Tue 26 February 2013 UTC
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A top U.N. humanitarian official says that as security improves in Mali, the world must seize the moment to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid.
John Ging, a senior humanitarian affairs official who just visited Mali, said Tuesday that country's northern region is stabilizing after a period of brutal violence and economic collapse. But he says the north needs help re-opening schools, markets and health clinics. The U.N. is appealing for $373 million in aid, but has only received $17 million.
Even before fighting erupted last year between government forces, Taureg rebels and radical Islamists, Ging said Mali was suffering from the severe food crisis that has hit Africa's arid Sahel region.
Ging said more than 430,000 people were displaced before French and Malian troops regained much of the north last month.
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