United Nations Urged to Authorize the Deployment of African Troops to Mali
The United Nations has been urged to authorize the deployment of African troops to Mali which has been caught in a protracted crisis as Islamists militias maintain of it territories in the north of the country.
Quoting AU Commission chair Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the AU said in a statement that the UN should make a definitive position on the situation in the West African country and extend support to the International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).
The statement was released after a meeting the AU boss had held with leading officials of the United Nations Security Council in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa over the crisis.
The event was ahead of a planned meeting in New York over the next response to the crisis.
The AU said the deployment of troops to Mali was provided for in the harmonized Concept of Operations adopted by the Peace and Security Council on November 13 2012.
Dlamini-Zuma reiterated the AU’s urgent appeal to the UNSC to help in the establishment of a UN support package funded through assessed contributions.
According to her an early and positive response by the UNSC to the requests from ECOWAS and the AU would send a clear message on the resolve of the international community, as well as contribute to the early resolution of the crisis.
Her meeting with the UN officials ended after both parties agreed on the critical importance of continued consultations and coordination to address the various aspects of the crisis, the statement said.
Mali was thrown into a political crisis in March after a coup in Bamako overthrew the government of Amadou Toumani Toure and precipitated the rebellion by Tuareg rebels and Ansar Dine Islamists in the northern territories under their control.
Source African Press Agency
African News from NetNewsPublisher.com
Category: Africa
