Bamako: The head of the African Union (AU), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Wednesday that an African plan for military intervention in Mali to help government troops reclaim territory from Islamist militants would be ready within weeks.
Mali, earlier considered as the best democracy in Africa, is now suffering from a coup in Northern part where militants allied with al-Qaeda in Islamic Magrib (AQIM) have seized an area more than France, imposing harsh teachings of Islam.
International powers including United States and France had expressed their concern over the issue and demanded Malian authorities to take suitable action.
Regional and international efforts to deal with the situation, which has created a safe haven for Islamists and international criminal gangs, have been hampered by divisions over how to help.
The AU asked the Security Council in June to back military intervention. The council asked for a detailed operation plan within a deadline of a little over six weeks from October 12.
“The Security Council has asked us to produce a plan within 45 days – that will be done within 45 days,”, the AU chiefsaid.
Western diplomats had expressed concern that the AU’s request for U.N. backing in June had lacked the necessary details, while others have voiced serious reservations about the ability of ECOWAS to tackle the northern Islamists anytime soon.
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