France to propose military intervention in Mali

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)

The text will combine "a military and political response" to the crisis in the West African country and appeal for dialogue between Bamako and Islamists controlling the north of the country, said French envoy Gerard Araud.

"It will also authorise people to send trainers to Bamako because we have to rebuild the Malian army," he added. In March, military putschists seized power in the capital Bamako, ousting President Amadou Toumani Toure, only to see the north and east fall to Tuareg rebels and Islamist militias linked to Al-Qaeda.

The resolution, to be circulated "in the coming days," will also encourage regional bloc ECOWAS and Bamako to provide a "concept of operation" requested by the council for a pan-African military operation, according to Araud.

Araud expressed hope that after a 19 October meeting in Bamako with ECOWAS and the African Union "it will be possible in a second stage to authorise the deployment of a force" through the adoption of a second Security Council resolution.

Formal request

Bamako has formally requested a UN mandate for an international military force with a deployment in Mali of West African troops. France is taking the lead on the issue and last week French President Francois Hollande presented it as an urgent matter in his speech to the UN General Assembly.

In addition, last week, Mali, France, and West African nations led calls for the creation of an African-led force to help Mali flush out rebels from its northern territory, seized in a March coup. Both Araud and his British counterpart Mark Lyall Grant spoke of unity in the council on the topic.

However, diplomats are not hiding the fact that adoption of a resolution granting a UN mandate will take time.

"It requires a lot more discussion among the members of the Security Council before we enter into discussions with ECOWAS on what we are talking about," Gert Rosenthal, Guatemala's ambassador, said Tuesday.

Rosenthal, whose country holds the Council's rotating presidency in October, added that he expects at least one additional meeting later in the month. "No one disagrees that it is a serious problem, particularly the terrorist threat, that cannot be allowed to fester and get worse," said another diplomat.

"So if there is a credible and workable plan to resolve that, the Security Council should support it," the diplomat added, noting that "we are a little bit away from being in a position to say this is the plan and we are all behind it."

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge