A/HRC/37/78 9. The Independent Expert notes that, on 26 November, the day before his most recent visit to Mali, the Council of Ministers decided to postpone the local and regional elections, initially scheduled for 17 December 2017, to April 2018. Several leaders of the opposition had voiced concern about the security situation with regard to the holding of elections. The Government of Mali justified its decision by the need to hold inclusive, calm and peaceful elections and to respond to the concerns of all actors in the electoral process. 10. The referendum on the bill amending the Constitution, initially planned for 9 July 2017, was postponed. The Independent Expert notes that the purpose of amending the Constitution of 1992, which would be the first amendment in 25 years, was to implement some of the commitments undertaken in the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali of May/June 2015. However, thousands of people, including several opposition leaders, among whom were former Prime Ministers and trade unionists, reportedly demonstrated against the amendment. B. The security situation 11. The Independent Expert notes that the state of emergency in Mali, in force almost continuously since the terrorist attack against a luxury hotel in Bamako in November 2015, was extended for a year on 31 October 2017. According to the Malian authorities, the decision was motivated by the ongoing terrorist threat in the centre of the country, which could spread further afield. The Independent Expert is concerned by the recurring, asymmetric terrorist attacks against the Malian defence and security forces, as well as other State officials and international forces. 12. The Independent Expert notes that, on 27 November, the day of his arrival in Mali, 4 peacekeepers and a Malian soldier were killed in two attacks that also injured some 20 others. The first attack happened in Ménaka Region, in the country’s north-west, and caused the death of three peacekeepers and one Malian soldier; 16 other peacekeepers and a civilian employee of MINUSMA were injured. The second attack, this time against a MINUSMA convoy north of Douentza (centre), cost the life of a peacekeeper and seriously injured three others. On 8 October 2017, two unidentified armed persons shot dead a 21year-old forest guide and a 30-year-old employee of the Ministry of Agriculture in Ségou Region. On 6 November 2017, a bus was blown up by a mine near Ansongo in northern Mali, killing at least four civilians, including a young girl, and injuring several others. The passengers had been travelling to a weekly market in Ansongo. 13. Since the start of 2016, the steady spread of insecurity and violence in the central regions has made the multidimensional nature of the Malian crisis even more complex. The growing penetration and influence of violent extremist groups in certain regions of the country, in the absence of the Malian authorities, raise many concerns about the State’s real capacity to retake control of these areas and protect the population. In certain towns, persistent insecurity has prevented the deployment of public servants and forced out humanitarian actors, families and the political and judicial authorities. 14. The Independent Expert notes that at least 439 security incidents were recorded in Mopti and Ségou Regions between January and August 2017, in other words between 50 and 60 incidents per month. The main threats include: attacks using improvised explosive devices against the Malian defence and security forces and MINUSMA; kidnapping; radical sermons and the imposition of sharia law; retaliation by means of physical assault; and targeted assassinations. These incidents have left at least 209 people dead, of whom 141 were civilians, and injured 126 others, including 52 civilians. 15. On 15 July, a dozen armed extremists stormed the village of Sambaolo in Mopti cercle and told the village chief to assemble the inhabitants in the mosque. For an hour they preached radical Islam, including the strict application of sharia law to women, and stated that they would attack all symbols of State authority, such as individuals in uniform and persons who worked for or with the Government. In addition, they threatened anyone who might try to report them with reprisals. The Independent Expert was informed that these armed groups have established so-called courts in the region of Dyaloubé, where shariabased decisions are taken in disputes regarding debt, access to land and intercommunal 4 GE.18-01553