Mali: Military intervention to retake north not likely until 2013

A planned African-led military offensive to reclaim northern Mali from al-Qaeda-linked insurgents is unlikely to begin before next year — despite growing concern about the terrorist threat militants there pose to the continent and the rest of the world, a West African official said Tuesday.

An international plan is being finalized to help Mali’s interim government root out the Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, that have become the de facto rulers of the country’s north following chaos prompted by a military coup in March.

Proposals for an offensive by Mali’s forces, supported by troops from neighboring nations and other African Union states — but not Western countries — are to be discussed at a meeting of African officials in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Wednesday.

However, diplomats expect that the preparations and moves to secure a United Nations Security Council resolution to authorize the action could take months.

The official who preferred anonymity revealed that the nations involved will take until December to work out what help to provide to the troubled West African country.

The assistance will likely include training for the nation’s armed forces, help with military logistics and work on a plan to hold elections in 2013.

Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, which has activities in the area, is growing in both capability and ambition, and there is a very real threat of further attacks in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and beyond.

In August, Mali’s interim leaders announced a 31-minister government, including five seen as close to coup leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo, who nominally handed over power but still has not completely relinquished control.