PARIS — The UN Security Council Friday urged its members to ramp up their fight against Daesh (so-called IS) militants after the Paris attacks, as Europe said it would tighten border checks and Brussels issued its highest terror alert.
Hours before the UN Security Council passed the resolution authorizing countries to "take all necessary measures" against Daesh, gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Mali's capital, taking more than 100 people hostage in a siege that left at least 27 dead.
The attack on Bamako's luxury Radisson Blu hotel added to fears about the global jihadist threat a week after attacks in Paris left 130 people dead, although there was no immediate confirmation of a link with Daesh.
In the European Union, ministers agreed to rush through reforms to the passport-free Schengen zone to tighten the bloc's borders, and Belgium put out its highest terror alert in its capital, warning of a "serious and imminent threat".
Officials declined to add further details until later on Saturday "in order to allow ongoing judicial investigations to follow their course", the OCAM national crisis center said in a statement.
The 28-year-old suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, is believed to have traveled to Syria to join Daesh and be trained as an operative in Europe.
News that he and another attacker were able to slip back into Europe from Syria, despite being the subject of international arrest warrants, has raised fears jihadists are taking advantage of the migrant crisis to carry out attacks. One of the suspected gunmen in the Paris attacks linked to Abaaoud, 26-year-old Brussels resident Salah Abdeslam, is still the subject of a huge international manhunt.
At the United Nations, Russia joined Western powers in backing the French-drafted text that authorizes countries to "take all necessary measures" to fight Daesh and other extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda.
Describing Daesh as a "global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security", the resolution called for sanctions and urges countries to step up efforts to cut off the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria.
French President Francois Hollande welcomed the move, even though the text does not provide any legal basis for military action, saying it will "contribute to mobilizing nations to eliminate Daesh.”
French diplomats argue it will provide important international political support to the anti-Daesh campaign, which has been ramped up since the attacks in Paris and after Daesh claimed it downed a Russian passenger jet in Egypt last month.
"Today's vote shows beyond doubt the breadth of international support for doing more in Syria and for decisive action to eradicate ISIL," said British Prime Minister David Cameron, using another term for Daesh, which he labeled an "evil death cult".
In Brussels, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he and his EU counterparts agreed in crisis talks to "immediately" tighten checks on points of entry to the 26-country Schengen area.
Cazeneuve said the European Commission would present plans to introduce "obligatory checks at all external borders for all travelers", including EU citizens, by the year's end.
Previously, only non-EU nationals had their details checked against a database for terrorism and crime when they enter the Schengen area.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said late Friday he was increasingly irritated that the EU was moving so slowly to secure its borders, adding the Netherlands was ready "to run the whole show" with other countries if necessary.
