African army chiefs meet on Mali conflict
2013-01-15 16:27
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2013-01-15 12:04
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he welcomed international response to Mali's request for assistance against terrorist groups.VIEW
Bamako - West African army chiefs met in Bamako on Tuesday
on plans to send African troops to join an offensive against Islamists
occupying northern Mali, as France pressed on with air strikes against the
insurgents.
"We are here today to speak essentially about the
engagement alongside our Malian brothers in arms, to liberate the north of
Mali," said Ivory Coast army chief General Soumaila Bakayoko.
Ivorian leader Alassane Ouattara is the acting president of
the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
The regional bloc is shaping a UN-mandated force of at least
3 300 soldiers, whose deployment has been fast-tracked by France's swift
intervention to stop the Islamists from advancing towards the Malian capital.
The force will be known as the International Mission of
Support in Mali (MISMA) and will be led by Nigeria, which plans to have 600
troops on the ground in Mali "before next week", President Goodluck
Jonathan said on Monday.
Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo have
also pledged troops.
But experts have warned it could take months before the
African troops are fully operational.
MISMA will be expected to bear the burden of on-the-ground
operations, with support from French air strikes which have already battered
the Islamists in their northern strongholds.
