UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Friday unanimously approved a plan to back an African-led military force to help the Malian army oust Islamic militants who seized the northern half of the country and are turning it into an al-Qaida terrorist hub.

The French-sponsored resolution expresses alarm over the infiltration by “al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), affiliated groups and other extremist groups,” and condemns “the abuses of human rights committed in the north of Mali by armed rebels, terrorist and other extremist groups.”