UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council unanimously agreed on Tuesday that a 12,600 strong UN peacekeeping force should be deployed in Mali from July 1, Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said.

Lyall Grant, council president for June, said that despite security, logistical and political obstacles in the country, in turmoil since March 2012, there was "unanimous agreement" for UN peacekeepers to take over from a French-led military operation on Monday.