Mali: Senegal will not be contributing troops towards ECOWAS intervention

Senegal has withdrawn a commitment to contribute troops for a regional ECOWAS intervention in Mali.

Senegal President Macky Sall communicated the decision during a visit to France.

Sall justified his decision by saying that the Senegal armed forces were already spread thin by several peacekeeping missions abroad. Peacekeepers from Senegal are presently engaged under United Nations mandates in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau.

Some analysts attribute the president’s decision to fear of reprisals by terrorist groups operating in the Maghreb and the Sahel.

Al Qaeda-linked Islamist groups which are controlling the northern part of Mali have threatened to attack Senegal and any other country that will contribute troops to fight them.

Senegal had endorsed an appeal by ECOWAS to join Nigeria and Niger in contributing 3,270 troops for deployment in Mali, initially to protect the interim civilian government.

Senegal has remained relatively unaffected by terrorist activities due largely to its neutrality.

Three years ago Senegal facilitated the arrest of terrorists by Mauritanian security operatives after they were found hiding in Senegal but Dakar remained mute over the operation.