Mali conflict: UN backs France's military intervention

The UN Security Council has unanimously backed France's military intervention in Mali to fight Islamist rebels, officials have said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he hoped the intervention would help restore "Mali's constitutional order and territorial integrity".

Thousands of African troops are due to join Malian and French forces to help push back the rebels' offensive.

France intervened on Friday after the Islamists began advancing southwards.

French authorities said they had feared that the rebels would march on the capital, Bamako, creating a grave security threat for the wider region.

On Monday, the Security Council convened in New York for an emergency meeting at France's request.

After the meeting, France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud said his country had the "understanding and support" of the 14 other Security Council members.

The African troops are expected in Mali in "coming days and weeks", Mr Araud said, adding that the Nigerian commander of the force was already on the ground.

Mr Ban echoed Mr Araud's call for rapid deployment of an African force.

"The Secretary-General welcomes that bilateral partners are responding, at the request and with the consent of the government of Mali, to its call for assistance to counter the troubling push southward by armed and terrorist groups," his office said in a statement.