[ 2012-04-14 ]

W. Africa council urges regional troops in Mali
LAGOS (AFP) - The West African bloc ECOWAS has
asked regional leaders to approve a troop
deployment to end a rebellion by separatist groups
in northern Mali, it said on Saturday.

ECOWAS had raised the prospect of sending a force
of up to 3,000 men to try to reclaim the north,
seized by rebels, outlaws and Al-Qaeda-linked
fighters who capitalised on the disarray of a
March 22 coup in the capital Bamako.

The bloc's mediation and security council decided
at an extraordinary meeting in Abidjan on Thursday
"that the regional force will be deployed if
dialogue being brokered by the regional mediator,
President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, should
fail," the Economic Community of West African
States said in a statement here.

"ECOWAS shall take all necessary measures to end
the rebellion and maintain the unity and
territorial integrity of Mali including the use of
force," the statement said following the meeting
attended by foreign and defence ministers.

The ministers also insisted that the rebels
withdraw from all occupied territories as a
precondition for negotiations.

To address the anticipated humanitarian
consequences of the crisis, the ministers approved
$3.0 million (2.3 million euros) in aid to the
legitimate government of Mali and another $1.5
million to the neighbouring countries of Burkina
Faso and Niger.

The European Union, France and the United States
have already indicated their willingness to
support ECOWAS' effort to end the rebellion and
preserve Mali's territorial integrity.

The ministers also agreed to dispatch a military
contingent to Guinea-Bissau to replace an Angolan
mission in the crisis-wracked and impoverished
west African country.

The council meeting took place before Thursday's
military coup in Guinea-Bissau.

"The council further agreed on the dispatch of a
mixed civilian-military delegation to
Guinea-Bissau under the auspices of the regional
mediator to meet with the key stakeholders within
the political class and the military," it said.

ECOWAS has strongly condemned the coup and
demanded the immediate restoration of
constitutional order so that the country's
presidential run-off vote, set for April 29, can
go forward.

Source - AFP

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