Africans urge UN to quickly approve force for Mali

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — African nations appealed to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to urgently authorize the deployment of an international force to oust al-Qaida and extremists who have overrun northern Mali, but the United Nations said the top priority must be political reconciliation — not a military operation.

Representatives of the African Union, the West African regional group ECOWAS and Mali's transitional government told an open meeting of the Security Council that the political and military tracks need to be pursued at the same time to dismantle the terrorist networks, end the massive human rights violations in the north and reunite the country.

But U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman told the council that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes international efforts should first focus on reaching an agreement among Mali's opposing groups on the roadmap for a political transition, with military action in the north as "a last resort."

Mali was plunged into turmoil in March after a coup in the capital of Bamako created a security vacuum. That allowed the secular Tuaregs, who have long felt marginalized by Mali's government, to take half the north as a new homeland. But months later, the rebels were kicked out by Islamist groups allied with al-Qaida, which have now imposed strict Shariah law in the north.

The open Security Council meeting highlighted the huge gap between the hopes of the Africans, who are united in pressing for the speedy deployment of an international force to support the Malian army in retaking the north, and the U.N. call for positive developments in the peace process and training for the international and Malian forces before a green light is given for military action.

France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud tried to downplay the differences, telling reporters that there is "consensus" among the council's 15 members on a dual track approach — political and military.

"In the coming days, France will table a resolution which is based on this dual track, and I hope it will be approved in the coming days," he said.

But in outlining what the resolution will include, Araud made clear that it will follow the U.N. recommendation, not the African demand.

He said the Malian army and the ECOWAS-led international force are not ready for a military operation.

"Preparing the Malian army, which needs to be rebuilt nearly from scratch ... will take several months," he said, and "the ECOWAS forces are not ready to fight in the desert."

But Araud said an ECOWAS force needs to be sent immediately to the Malian capital, Bamako, "because it will send also a strong signal to encourage the political process — and we need to have a political process to allow the Malian forces to go back to their barracks in the north."

Feltman told the council that U.N., AU, ECOWAS and Malian military and police planners have been working on an operational plan for military action, but he said questions remain about how the forces would be led, sustained, trained, equipped and financed. In addition, he said, significant international support will be needed to carry out operations against terrorist groups and their affiliates in the north.

Ban, the U.N. chief, reiterated in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press in Doha, Qatar, that "the priority should be given on political negotiation, political dialogue," including addressing the grievances of the Tuareg minority and trying to reach out to other minority groups.

If a military operation is necessary to deal with "radical extremist terrorist elements in the north," he said, "due diligence must be given for protection of civilian population, for protection of human rights."

By contrast, the Africans argued that political efforts will be more effective if they coincide with speedy military action.

Traore Rokiatou Guikine, Mali's minister for African intergration, said the transitional government "would like to underscore the urgency of deploying this force in north Mali" to prevent the region from "becoming a permanent safe haven for terrorism and organized crime, which is happening."

Ambassador Antonio Tete, the AU's U.N. envoy, said the political and military transitions are "mutually reinforcing."

He warned that "a lack of decisiveness on any of these tracks may send the wrong message to the terrorist and criminal networks, as well as to the armed groups that are not committed to a negotiated solution, while prolonging the suffering of the civilian population."

Kadre Ouedraogo, president of the ECOWAS Commission, argued that Security Council authorization for the speedy deployment of an international force "will salvage and strengthen the political dialogue" launched by ECOWAS "and will pave the way to a rapid solution in Mali."

On the critical question of financing, Ouedraogo said once the resolution is adopted a roundtable on financing will be convened. Feltman reiterated that the U.N. has "limited ability" to fund a support package for a combat force.