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Mali intervention to dominate African Union summit
The war against al-Qaeda linked militants in northern Mali including the deployment of African troops is expected to dominate talks at the African Union summit in Ethiopia opening Sunday.
A scaling-up of African troops is intended to support the Malian army — to remove the al-Qaeda linked militants, who seized swathes of Mali’s desert north following a coup last year.
The African Union (AU) has said the priority is to send troops immediately to the embattled West African state.
“The goal is to do it I would say yesterday, as soon as we can,” AU Deputy Peace and Security Commissioner El Ghassim Wane told reporters on Thursday.
African leaders are set to commit their support for the force, with presidents expected to also stay beyond the two-day summit for an international donor conference for Mali.
The conference on Tuesday will aim to drum up further funds for Mali operations and will also include representatives from the UN Security Council.
But during the first bi-annual summit since the election of AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the 54-nation AU, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon in attendance, will also likely focus on other areas.
