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Mali: African Union to hold donor conference on intervention
“Our elements went aboard three aircraft — the tanks were transported in a C130, the pick-up trucks in an Antonov and the troops embarked on a Boeing of the Toumai Air Tchad airline,” the source said.
In an interview with Radio France international on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat said the Chadian commitment for Mali consists of an infantry regiment and two support battalions.
“Our presence has to be significant in order to effectively accomplish our mission,” he told Radio France Internationale, adding that the troops would work closely with Mali’s army and with MISMA.
Battle-hardened Chadian soldiers, used to conflict in the desert, are expected to provide a key operational boost to MISMA, which is being deployed by ECOWAS.
The UN-approved MISMA will be led by a Nigerian general, Shehu Abdulkadir. The full ECOWAS contingent is expected to have assembled in Bamako by January 26.
Nigeria is sending 900 men. Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo and Senegal have each announced that they will send some 500 men, Benin will send 300, and Guinea and Ghana will send more than 100 each.
Copyright 2013 AFP
