U.N. Envoy "Deeply Disturbed" by Reports of Malian Troop Committing Abuses

Malian forces are suspected of arming militias to hunt down Tuaregs and Arabs

The UN anti-genocide envoy says he is "deeply disturbed" by reports of reprisal attacks by Malian troops as they retake control of the north.

Such widespread and systematic abuses could "constitute atrocity crimes", Adama Dieng said in a statement. The military is suspected of recruiting and arming proxy militia groups to kill Arabs and ethnic Tuaregs, he added.