Mali's top diplomat demands UN Peacekeepers leave immediately

U.N. peacekeepers stand guard in the northern town of Kouroume, Mali, May 13, 2015. [Reuters]

Mali's top diplomat demanded Friday that U.N. peacekeepers who have been in this West African country grappling with an Islamic insurgency for more than a decade leave immediately, claiming they had failed in their mission.

Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop made the request in a speech to the United Nations Security Council. He said the U.N. mission had not achieved its objectives and was sowing distrust among the people.