MALI has beefed up security in the north to crack down on an armed gang holding six soldiers hostage and threatening the local population, a security ministry official said. The group is allegedly headed by Ibrahim Bahanga, a former rebel who integrated into Mali’s army but has since deserted. Bahanga’s base in Tin Essako, some 2_000km north of Bamako, was dismantled last month and his men are carrying out “isolated operations,” the official said. The bandits are mainly looking for “food, ammunition and all-terrain vehicles,” he said. – AFP