Mali: UN Backs France Intervention
Bamako---The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution in favour of France’s military operation in to stem out Islamist rebels now fighting for control of the entire northern African nation.
Emergent Islamist rebels, who initially fought alongside Tuareg separatists for control of the northern region they want independent, have since fallen out with their former allies, seizing control of the region where they have imposed harsh Islamic laws.
Their recent advance southwards, threatening to overrun the capital Bamako prompted a request by the interim president for the former colonial powers to intervene at the height of the threat that would consequently risk security in the wider region.
Monday’s emergency Security Council meeting requested by France was to drum for support from the other 14 council members on its military operation in Mali to counter the growing strength and control of armed extremist groups in the country.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he hoped the intervention would help restore "Mali's constitutional order and territorial integrity".
French ambassador to the UN Gerard Araud, told the closed-door meeting that his country launched the military intervention because it believed the existence of the country was at stake and also France had “no other choice” but to help following distress calls from the Malian government.
After the meeting Araud told reporters late on Monday that the Council unanimously expressed “understanding and support” for the French campaign.
He added that France also wants the deployment of the regional force to be made as “quick as possible.”
The 3000-strong force drawn from member states of West African regional bloc, Ecowas are expected in Mali “in a matter of days and weeks” under the UN Security Council resolution 2085 passed in December, that called for an African led mission in Mali.
The mission would include 600 troops from Nigeria, 500 each from Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo and Senegal, and 300 from Benin. The Nigerian commander who will lead the force is said to be on the ground.
France which begun its air campaign on Friday, intensifying throughout the week has so far deployed 750 of its troops between Bamako and the town of Mopti 500 km, north under “Operation Serval” launched alongside Malian government forces.
President Francois Hollande who visited French troops stationed in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday said the number of troops deployed “will increase.”
Besides France and the US, 11 other nations have pledged troops or logistical support.
Over the weekend, Britain authorised the deployment of several C-17 transport planes to help the French military effort.
At least 11 Malian soldiers and a French helicopter pilot have died since the launch of the operation four days ago, with more than 100 militants reported to have been killed.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has reported that the humanitarian situation was "fast deteriorating" following many people fleeing areas targeted by the French airstrike.
Washington DC, United States
US Admits Role in Failed French Somali Mission
The United States has disclosed that its forces aided in the failed attempt by to rescue a French secret agent captured in Somalia three years ago by the Islamists al-Shabab militant group.
US President Barack Obama in his letter to the Congress on Sunday said the US troops took part in the mission, but only provided limited technical support to French forces who conducted the botched operation on Friday.
"United States combat aircraft briefly entered Somali airspace to support the rescue operation, if needed. These aircraft did not employ weapons during the operation," said Obama in the presidential statement.
Obama said the aiding the operation was warranted to further US national security interests, but assured that US forces “took no direct part in the assault on the compound where it was believed the French citizen was being held hostage.”
The White House letter to the Congress marks to fulfill the presidential obligation under the War Powers Resolution, without authorization of the US legislation.
A team of French commandos on Friday tried to free Denis Allex, an intelligence agent held in custody by the al-Shabab group, during a raid on a compound where he was allegedly being held since his capture in the Somali capital of Mogadishu in 2009.
The insurgents are reportedly to have killed their hostage and a French commando during the raid in which the French defence ministry says claimed 17 of the militant fighters.
The al-Qaeda linked group denies killing of the two French citizens, insisting that the hostage and the missing commando are alive and in their custody.
The Al-Shabab has been fighting the UN-backed Somali government to instill Islamic based rule in the country. The group has recently faced great offense from the joint AU and government forces that drove them from pockets it controlled in the capital and other strategic territories.