Politics
ECOWAS urges members to hasten troop deployment in Mali
(AFP) – The emergency summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc has called on member states and Chad, which has pledged 2,000 troops, to put words into action without haste in the military intervention efforts in Mali.
At present, only about 100 African soldiers of a planned 5,800 African force have so far reached Mali.
A statement at the end of the Abidjan meeting called on the United Nations “to immediately provide financial and logistical backing for the deployment of the African Support Mission in Mali (MISMA).
Cote d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara, who is also the current head of ECOWAS, said it was high time others did their bit to help end the crisis.
“The hour has come for a broader commitment by the major powers and more countries and organisations to the military operations to show greater solidarity with Mali and Africa,” he said.
“We must speed up the re-establishment of Mali’s territorial integrity with the logistical support of our partners … (and) go beyond our current deployment numbers,” Ouattara said, warning that the crisis threatened to destabilize the region.
Malian soldiers, backed by French troops and air power, retook the key central town of Konna on Thursday from Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents who had swooped down more than a week ago and threatened the capital Bamako.
