Abuja - Nigeria — The modalities for the transformation of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) into a UN Mission will be discussed at a two-day meeting of the sub-Committee of the ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) which opens in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on Saturday, 11th May 2013.
The UN Security Council authorized the transformation of AFISMA into a 12,800- strong Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) by July 1, 2013.
The CCDS seven-member sub-committee will also discuss AFISMA's status of deployment. The sub-committee is made of the Chiefs of Defence Staff of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, as the chair.