State of emergency declared in Mali

Bamako, April 5 (IANS) Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has declared a state of emergency across the country for a period of 10 days.

The decision to impose the emergency was taken on Monday during a special cabinet meeting presided over by the president, Xinhua reported.

"This state of emergency that follows the previous one that ended on March 31, was declared due to the prevailing security situation in Mali and the sub-region which is characterised by constant terrorist threats," said a cabinet statement.

Malian authorities said the state of emergency that ended on March 31 enabled security forces to arrest terror suspects and impound suspicious vehicles.