AU seeks military mandate in Mali

Posted on June 13, 2012

AU seeks military mandate in Mali

The African Union has asked the UN Security Council for a resolution that would allow military intervention in Mali, where Islamist militants have become an international security threat.

Chairman of AU commission, Mr. Jean Ping, said officials would meet Security Council representatives in New York to discuss the issue further.

He however, did not give any date for the meeting or details of proposed military aims in the West African state.

Exploring options of dialogue

Speaking in Gabon, Ping stressed that he expected the Security Council to agree to a resolution allowing military intervention in Mali because world powers knew the country was "lawless".

However he said efforts were still being made to bring the Tuareg-led Malian rebel group MNLA and local Islamist group Ansar Dine to the negotiating table.

"If we don't manage to (reach agreement) then we will have to use force. That seems more and more necessary," he said.

Mali's former colonial ruler, France, has six of its citizens held hostage in an unknown location in the region by al Qaeda's North African arm.

It has said it would be ready to help restore stability in Mali if there was a Security Council resolution.

Mali, once regarded as a good example of African democracy, collapsed into chaos after soldiers toppled the President in March, leaving a power vacuum that enabled Tuareg rebels from the north to take control of nearly two-thirds of the country.

REUTERS/Ibisaki/Yinka