No role for Nato in Mali - alliance chief
2013-02-01 11:31
Vilnius - Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Friday he
saw no role for the Western defence alliance in Mali, but hailed allies who
moved to assist the French-led operation.
"Nato as such is not engaged in the Mali operation and
I don't see a role for Nato as such in Mali," Rasmussen said during a
brief visit to Lithuania's capital Vilnius.
He commended Nato-member France "for having taken swift
and also effective action", stressing "it was high time to stop
terrorist groups from advancing in Mali".
"I also appreciate that individual Nato allies have
decided to support France in that very important mission," Rasmussen said.
"But the UN Security Council has decided that there
should be an African-led stabilisation force and this is a reason why I don't
see a role for Nato," he added, speaking alongside Lithuania's President
Dalia Grybauskaite.
Grybauskaite said her Baltic state was ready to provide
humanitarian aid and assist in the EU training mission in Mali, but did not
elaborate.
France launched an offensive in Mali on 11 January as
Islamists who had ruled the country's north for months advanced south towards
the capital Bamako, sparking fears the country could become a haven for al-Qaeda-linked
extremists and criminal gangs.
France now has 3 500 troops on the ground in the west
African country, its former colony. A total of 8 000 African soldiers are
expected in Mali to assist Malian forces and take over from the French
soldiers.
