2 000 Ecowas troops in Mali within 10 days
2013-01-17 08:30
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2013-01-17 08:52
Who is involved in the Mali conflict? What do they hope to achieve? Get all the answers here.WATCH
Bamako – At least 2 000 West African troops forming part of
a regional intervention in Mali's French-backed war against Islamic extremists
will arrive in Bamako within the next 10 days, official sources said on Wednesday.
West African army chiefs met in Bamako on Wednesday to plot
the deployment of at least 3 300 troops to shore up a French offensive against
the Islamists who have occupied northern Mali since April 2012.
"Urgency necessitates that everything is speeded up so
that 2 000 men from AFISMA (African-led International Support Mission for Mali)
arrive in Bamako before January 26," read an internal document from the
meeting seen by AFP.
The number was confirmed by Commander Abdoulaye Diakite from
the Malian army.
"We have agreed to start by mobilising 2 000 men. Things
will move fast because from tomorrow, the Nigerian army will send its first
contingent," he said.
"Troops from other countries will quickly follow."
The document circulated during the meeting said: "For
the success of the mission it is necessary to coordinate all actions with the
French forces."
AFISMA will be led by Nigerian General Shehu Abdulkadir, and
the country will also send 900 men, a first contingent of which was meant to
arrive on Wednesday, but had not yet landed by the middle of the evening.
The UN-backed intervention force will also include men from
Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo, Senegal, Guinea and Ghana. Chad, which is not a
member of Ecowas, has also promised to send troops.
