Magharebia (Washington DC)

West Africa: Ecowas to Meet On Mali

18 January 2013

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will hold an emergency summit Friday (January 18th) in Abidjan, PANA reported. The West African bloc will reportedly discuss strategies for the restoration of peace and constitutional order in Mali.

In related news, some 100 Togolese and Nigerian soldiers arrived in Mali late Thursday to boost the French-led effort against Ansar al-Din and its al-Qaeda allies.

ECOWAS pledged to send 3,000 soldiers for MISMA (International Mission for Support to Mali). The UN-backed intervention force will also include soldiers from Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea and Ghana. Chad, which is not a member of ECOWAS, also promised to send 2,000 troops.

The African force will be headed by Nigerian General Shehu Abdulkadir.

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