Content_paragraphs:  In Gao region, MINUSMA recorded only a slight decrease in violence against 
  
  civilians, despite the efforts of the Malian defence forces to return to their positions in 
  
  Labézanga, with MINUSMA support. Criminality and incidents of violent intimidation 
  
  persisted along the Ansongo-Labézanga and the Ansongo-Ménaka routes, highlighting 
  
  the need for an improved security presence. Abductions of girls and women by presumed 
  
  radical armed elements were recorded, and violence against civilians continued in the I -
  
  n-Tillit commune, in particular against gold miners involved in illegal mining.