International efforts to defeat Islamist rebels gain momentum.
The European Union yesterday (15 October) said that it may deploy a military mission to Mali to help regain control of the north of the country, which has been seized by Islamist rebels in recent months.
Foreign ministers from the EU's 27 member states ended a meeting in Luxembourg by calling for the EU's diplomatic service, the European External Action Service (EEAS), to present a plan for consideration on 19 November, when the ministers next meet.
Options likely to be considered in the plan include the despatch of military trainers to Mali and the deployment of soldiers to fight alongside members of Mali's small army.
"We believe there's a real risk for the region if Mali remains an ungoverned space, free for terrorists and drug traffickers to operate," said the EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.
The gravity of EU concerns was underlined by the German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, who said: "We have to avoid at an early stage the development of a second Somalia, without any rule of law. Because then there are going to be founded further terrorist schools that will endanger our situation here in Europe too."
The mission would be co-ordinated with the United Nations, the African Union and the west African grouping, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). On Friday (12 October), the UN's 15-member Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for Ecowas, the African Union and the UN to draw up a plan for a possible military intervention, with "detailed and actionable recommendations" to be delivered within 45 days.
On Friday (19 October), all the international groups engaged in efforts to re-establish security in Mali – including the EU – and representatives from neighbouring countries will meet in the Malian capital, Bamako, to discuss strategy.
The security crisis comes against the backdrop of an ongoing political crisis. The advances of separatists in the north prompted government soldiers in March to remove President Amadou Toumani Toure. Under international pressure, a caretaker government was then established, but the process remains incomplete. "I hope that what we'll see in the future is a Malian government with a credible roadmap for the restoration of democratic government," Ashton said.
Since the spring, the separatists in the north have been defeated by Islamist rebels.
The political and security crises have in turn transformed long-standing food problems a full-blown humanitarian crisis, forcing up to 450,000 people to leave their homes.
© 2012 European Voice. All rights reserved.
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