- Title: IVORY COAST: West African body gears up for military intervention in Mali.
- Date: 18th September 2012
- Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (SEPTEMBER 17, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ECOWAS FOREIGN MINISTERS IN MEETING (SOUNDBITE)) (French) DANIEL KABLAN DUNCAN, PRESIDENT OF ECOWAS COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, SAYING: "The next step is for us to report to our heads of state the conclusions of our meeting and the heads of state will discuss them and formally respond to President Dioncounda Traore." MORE OF OFFICIALS TALKING IN CONFERENCE HALL (SOUNDBITE)) (French) DANIEL KABLAN DUNCAN, PRESIDENT OF ECOWAS COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, SAYING: "We were able to harmonise our position and define a roadmap which formalises the type of collaboration which must be established between the African forces and the Malian army, and which stipulates the means of support offered to the Malian army, so we can respond as soon as possible to the demand by the Malian authorities." VARIOUS OF STREET SCENES (SOUNDBITE) (French) HERMANE BAH, STUDENT, SAYING: "I think that a military intervention is not the solution. I think it's the dialogue, we could find a solution to the Malian crisis with the dialogue because a military intervention will make the population suffer, there will be a lot of loss of life." VARIOUS MORE OF STREET SCENES (SOUNDBITE) (French) TIEMOKO ANTELME, STREET VENDOR, SAYING: "If indeed Mali is in difficulty and that we need to send troops to kick these aggressors out of Mali, I think that initiative will be welcome." ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (RECENT - SEPTEMBER 14, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ECOWAS ARMY CHIEFS OF STAFF MEETING
- Embargoed: 3rd October 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cote d'Ivoire
- Country: Ivory Coast
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA56E7BLREXYNCGBMMRG4GGDNDB
- Story Text: West Africa's regional body is gearing up for a tough fight to help Mali's government forces reclaim the north of the country from Islamist militants, telling the U.N. Security Council on Monday it needs major combat assets, including fighter jets.
Mali descended into chaos in March when soldiers toppled the president, leaving a power vacuum that enabled Tuareg rebels to seize nearly two-thirds of the country. But Islamist groups, some allied with al Qaeda, then hijacked the rebellion in the north to impose sharia law.
Mali's interim leader, Dioncounda Traore, earlier this month made a formal request to the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for military assistance to help free the country's north.
ECOWAS has mapped out a three-phase operation to reclaim northern Mali, but Traore only requested troops be deployed for the last phase.
"We were able to harmonise our position and define a roadmap which formalises the type of collaboration which must be established between the African forces and the Malian army, and which stipulates the means of support offered to the Malian army, so we can respond as soon as possible to the demand by the Malian authorities," Daniel Kablan Duncan, the President of ECOWAS Council of Ministers, said.
ECOWAS and the African Union will now need to seek a U.N. Security Council mandate to send in troops. In June, the council asked them to clearly spell out the objectives of such an operation and how it would be carried out.
Security Council diplomats have privately expressed skepticism about ECOWAS' current plans, saying the West Africans need a more detailed strategy if any future military intervention in Mali is to succeed.
ECOWAS has intervened militarily in past African conflicts, including the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The conflict in Mali has also exacerbated a deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in the turbulent Sahel region - a belt of land spanning nearly a dozen of the world's poorest countries on the southern rim of the Sahara - where millions are on the brink of starvation due to drought.
A high-level meeting on the situation in the Sahel is due to be held later this month during the U.N. General Assembly. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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