UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Security Council to approve an extra 2,500 peacekeepers for Mali. The move comes after two deadly attacks on UN bases in the north of the country. CCTV spoke to Mali's Foreign Minister about what his government wants from the peacekeeping mission.

Mali gov't wants more robust mandate for UN mission

He said, "We are heading to New York for the renewal of the UN mandate in Mali. We want the UN mission to be given a more robust mandate to the mission to be able to protect and defend it's mandate. So the blue helmet to be provided with all the required equipment and tool to perform their job."

Mali urges better UN-AU cooperation to fight terror

"We want to see more operational coordination with the Malian security and defence forces. But we want also for the UN to open doors in terms of better and stronger collaboration with the AU over regional initiatives to counter terrorism."