Mali junta expels UN mission's human rights chief

Mali's military government has given the head of the UN peacekeeping mission's human rights division 48 hours to leave the country.

In a statement read out on national television, a government spokesman said Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali had committed "subversive actions" in his selection of witnesses to testify at UN Security Council briefings on Mali.

Last month, a Malian civil society activist who gave evidence at a UN meeting accused the government's Russian military partners of serious human rights violations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due in Mali on Monday for a visit aimed at boosting defence and security ties.

It will be the first official visit to the West African nation by a Russian foreign minister.