Mali: Nigeria, others send war plan to UN

November 12, 2012 by John Alechenu, Abuja

• Group photograph of members of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, during their extraordinary session in Abuja ... on Sunday.
| credits: NAN

NIGERIA and other ECOWAS member states on Sunday announced a decision  to send their war plan against Mali Islamists to the United Nations.

At the centre of the war plan is putting on stand-by 3,300 soldiers to help recapture northern Mali.

The troops will mostly come from Nigeria, Niger, and Burkina Faso, but other West African countries and two or three non-African states may also contribute forces, Ivorien President Alassane Quattara reportedly told journalists on Sunday after leaders of the ECOWAS countries met in Abuja.

Ouattara, who is the current chairman of ECOWAS, said there was no longer ambiguity concerning the force deployment as decisions have been reached on the logistics.

He said the troops could be deployed as soon as UN approved the plan which he said was drawn up by experts in Bamako, Mali’s capital city.

Reuters reports quoted a Malian army sources as saying that the plan covers a period of six months with a phase meant to train the soldiers and establish bases in Mali’s South, and to be followed by combat operations in the northern region of the country.

The UN  Security Council had given the African leaders 45 days from October 12 to draw up plan for military intervention to save northern Mali from Islamists.

The leaders reached the decision after validating the harmonised concept of operations for the Africa- led International

The ECOWAS leaders also considered recommendations made by the Mediation and Security Council, which was made up of Ministers of Foreign Affairs as well as their Defence counterparts.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Kadre Ouedraogo, read the communiqué by all the leaders who attended the meeting soon after the meeting ended.

He said, “Authority reiterates that dialogue remains the preferred option in the resolution of the political crisis in Mali.

“However, regarding the security situation, recourse to force may be indispensable in order to dismantle terrorist and transnational criminal networks that pose a threat to international peace and security.

“Summit reiterates its instruction to the Commission to maintain the stand-by force in a high state of readiness for immediate deployment, and urges Member states to concretise their commitments to provide military and logistic contributions to the ECOWAS military efforts.

“Authority decides to adopt the harmonised concept of operations for the deployment of the African-led international force in Mali and requests the Peace and Security Council of the African Union to endorse the concept and ensure its transmission, together with the Strategic Concept, to the United Nations Secretary General within the deadline stipulated in Resolution 2071.

“It urges the UN Security Council to examine the concept with a view to authorizing the deployment of the international military force in Mali in conformity with chapter VII of the UN Chapter.”

The leaders reiterated an earlier decision to bar the interim president, prime minister and other members of the Transitional Government from participating in next Presidential elections in Mali and Guinea Bissau.

President Goodluck Jonathan in his welcome address said that the deployment must be done to avert costly consequences on the sub-region in particular and the African continent in general.

He said, “Guinea Bissau and Mali need our help to stabilise and recover lost grounds. The long suffering peoples of Guinea Bissau and Mali will be looking up to us to end their nightmares and open the door of security and prosperity to them. We must not fail them.

“On our part, Nigeria will continue to play her role in close collaboration with other member states and indeed the AU and other members of the international community, until peace and democracy are restored in these countries.

“As leaders of our various countries, we cannot turn a blind eye to potentially destabilising situations in our sub-region. What has been happening in Guinea Bissau and Mali these past several months go against our collective vision of a peaceful, stable and economically prosperous region.”

Representative of the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, at the Summit, Mr. Said Djinnit, said the UN was fully committed to supporting ECOWAS and the AU towards achieving peace and security in Mali.

While urging that the fragile political dispensation in Mali be addressed and transitional process strengthened, Jonathan also asked for full exploration of all avenues for dialogue and negotiation with Malian rebels to prevent the force deployment and its implications.

He called on Malian authorities to urgently set-up the negotiation committee proposed by President Traore on July 29, 2012 to engage in negotiation with the armed and rebel groups in the North of Mali.

He said, “As we move forward, it is important to anticipate without delay some of the challenges ahead in setting up the force, including in terms of force generation, further planning, budgeting and resource mobilisation and finalisation of command and control arrangements to ensure effectiveness of the proposed deployment.”

“The key aspects of the protection of human rights and humanitarian access should also be kept in mind in the context of the finalisation of the CONOPS.”

The Representative of the African Union to the Summit, Mr. Pierre Buyoya, who is the High Representative of the AU for Mali and the Sahel, said that AU was committed to fighting the menace in Mali since the situation posed a danger to the continent and the international community.

While reacting to the development, National Publicity Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change called on the Federal Government to tread with caution.

He said, “In the apartheid era, Nigeria had Africa as the centre piece of its foreign policy. Quite rightly so. But times have changed.

“The South Africa that we strove hard and long to free from the shackles of apartheid rule has grown to be a regional power economically, politically and militarily. South Africa’s brand of democracy has inherent conferment of sovereignty on the people.

“In Nigeria, sovereignty lies in the hands of those that control the security forces. Nigeria is still grappling with the essence of nationhood. It is time to change our foreign policy thrust to Nigeria-centred.

“Nigerian military is over-stretched because of the festering self-inflicted wounds of the indiscretion of our political leadership. Military operations, as strategic ad hoc reinforcement of the police, are currently in more than 33 states.”

SOURCE: The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper12 November 2012.