UN members divided over Mali crisis, France mulls military action

Source:Reuters Published: 2012-9-27 21:30:05

UN members appeared deeply divided on Wednesday as they sought to resolve the crisis in Mali, with France and some of Mali's neighbors backing possible military intervention, while the US said the West African nation must first have an elected government.

A special UN session on Mali, held on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly, was intended to devise a plan for a nation that descended into chaos in March after a military coup toppled the president, leaving a power vacuum that enabled local Tuareg rebels to seize nearly two-thirds of the country.

Islamist groups have since hijacked the rebellion in the north, imposing strict Islamic law in regions under their control and spurring fears that religious extremist fighters could further destabilize the region.

Islamist groups including the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine have carried out public whippings of alleged adulterers and destroyed UNESCO-listed shrines of local saints in the ancient town of Timbuktu, arguing such worship was un-Islamic.

"There is an urgency to act to end the suffering of the people of Mali and to prevent a similar situation that would be even more complicated in the Sahel and the rest of the world," Malian Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra said.

France, Mali's former colonial power, called on Wednesday for the UN Security Council to adopt as soon as possible a resolution enabling military intervention in northern Mali, a call that has been supported by some West African nations that fear Mali's chaos will spread beyond its borders.

French President Francois Hollande warned that Mali's territorial integrity should be restored as soon as possible and that any lost time would only complicate matters.

He said he wanted a resolution on Mali to be approved within weeks. France has ruled out intervening directly, but has promised logistical and intelligence support.

Hollande's calls were echoed by some of Mali's neighbors, including Niger, whose foreign minister, Mohammed Bazoum, told delegates that only an armed intervention supported by friendly powers could eradicate insecurity.

 



Posted in: Africa

blog comments powered by Disqus