Photo: Présidence du Burkina-Faso West African countries have given an unenthusiastic response to Laurent Fabius's calls to take part in a military intervention in Mali during the French foreign affairs minister's 48-hour tour of four French-speaking countries that ended in Chad on Sunday.
Only Niger, which feels it is most under threat from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim), is keen to see a speedy intervention by the proposed west African force in north Mali, RFI's French service reports.
The Ecowas group of west African countries is supposed to be preparing to send 3,000 troops to fight the Aqim-linked Ansar Dine and other Islamist groups, who have took control of the territory's main cities, Gao and Timbiktu, after Tuareg separatists declared independence.
In Chad at the end of his tour on Saturday, Fabius claimed that President Idriss Déby had made a "very severe" analysis of the situation when they discussed Mali.
Déby "noted that the development of terrorism in this region constitutes a threat for all the countries in the area", he said after meeting the Chadian president.
But Déby made a point of calling for an "international force ... with the support of the United Sates, France and Nato", insisting that "we don't have the means in Africa to deal with this situation".
Earlier, in Senegal, Fabius declared that "it is up to the Malians and the Africans to take the necessary decisions with the backing of the international community".
Senegal and Burkina Faso are still trying to find a diplomatic solution, RFI's correspondents report, with Ouagadougou holding talks both with the Tuareg separatist MNLA and Ansar Dine.
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Deby is a coward undeserving of african leadershhip positions. His type sold us out for hundreds of years and led to our current messes. Weak.
If that new Old's French dominating had returned to becoming closed Mali, we still not searching about a solution can be stood or cutting al-Qaida's paths towards building more bases in the region, furthermore should give reasons for all that movements in north of Mali to increase their activities anti each foreign power tries to replacement these movements on that Mali country. There was a weakness of fighting terrorists in this region it might be no tools material, nor human to face, in other side all the movements were supported by last NAT'S military interview in labia led by France, who was gave a gold opportunity to al-Qaida to have guns , car, micelle,? And others of quantities and qualities of war materials which to use in north of Mali and made fear and noisily on Mali's neighbors? We had rather to let Malian treat their own interior affairs, give space to all the politics power in that country to participate, to express, and finally care Mali dignity