Tag Archives: Mali
7 February 2013
French Foreign Minister said on Wednesday that France wanted a United Nations peacekeeping force in Mali by April, incorporating troops offered by West African nations. At the UN, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous confirmed that a UN-led mission looks increasingly likely rather than an African-led force. The UN force would need the approval of the Malian government, which has expressed doubts.
Source: France 24 | France calls for Mali handover to UN troops
Source: UN News Centre | UN peacekeeping mission in Mali increasingly possible, says top official
29 January 2013
An international donor conference to financially help the military operation in Mali opened today at the African Union (AU) headquarters. The conference hopes to raise funds to support the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) which will cost at least $460 million.
Source: Deutsche Welle | Mali donor conference opens
26 January 2013
It has been almost two weeks since France began a military intervention to help the Malian army fight Islamist groups controlling the north of the country. The operation — code-named ‘Serval’ — was sparked by the ‘serious deterioration of the situation’ in Mali, after successful offensives by extremists who managed to take over the city of Konna, ‘a frontier town that had been the de facto line of government control’. The action of France, coming about after months of lengthy negotiations attempting to resolve the crisis in Mali, has been overall welcomed by the international community, and reportedly relatively successful in pushing back Islamists. In terms of international law, the military operation raises a number of issues, two aspects of which this blog post will address: the responsibility for maintaining peace, and the responsibility during the conduct of war. (more…)
24 January 2013
United States (US) military aircrafts were used in order to transport more than 80 French troops and 124 tonnes of equipment into Mali.
The US examines a request for aerial refuelling support, made by the French.
Source: The Huffington Post | Mali Intervention: U.S. Planes Arrive In Mali
15 January 2013
Following a call for help by the Malian government after offensives by Islamists groups in northern Mali, France started engaging in air-strikes on 11 January 2013.
The operations are carried out in support of the Malian army, while the deployment of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (authorized by UNSC Resolution 2085) has been slow moving.
Other States have announced they were ready to provide some logistical support (e.g. assistance in the transport of troops and materials). At the same time, ECOWAS announced it will also deploying a number of troops in the area.
The French President stated that the intervention was agreed upon with the interim President of Mali and hence was in compliance with international law.
Source: BBC | French troops continue operation against Mali Islamists
Source: The New York Times | France Battling Islamists in Mali
Source: The Wall Street Journal | French Join Africa Battle With Islamist Rebels
Source: France24 | France seeks allies in Mali operation