UN council threatens sanctions on Mali fighters

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council threatened sanctions against Islamist fighters in northern Mali and condemned the destruction of sacred tombs in the ancient city of Timbuktu, but did not authorize an intervention force in a resolution passed Thursday.

The council also warned of a worsening humanitarian situation and increasing cases of hostage-taking by terrorists in the landlocked West African nation. It demanded the restoration of constitutional order and an end to hostilities following a March coup that allowed al-Qaida-linked Islamists and Tuareg rebels to seize the county’s north.