AU seeks additional troops for Mali war

The African Union has been seeking to increase the size of the African-led force in Mali as French and Malian troops push further towards northern parts of the West African country.

“We definitely know, based on the first assumptions…that the force size will have to be significantly augmented,” AU peace and security commissioner, Ramtane Lamamra told reporters on Friday.

Lamamra said AFISMA’s size should be increased “to better respond to the needs on the ground,” speaking after a high-level security meeting in Addis Ababa.

The security meeting was held ahead of Sunday’s AU summit where the war in Mali will be discussed.

He said the AU would also seek urgent “temporary” logistical support, including transport, medicine, and field hospitals, from the United Nations for AFISMA.

The AU asked the UN to “authorize…the immediate establishment by the UN of temporary arrangements that would enable AFISMA to speedily deploy and effectively implement its mandate,” Lamamra said.

The United Nations has authorized the deployment of a 3,300-strong force under the auspices of West African bloc ECOWAS.

Nearly 2,300 French troops have already been deployed to Mali.

The AU urged “member states willing to contribute troops to AFISMA to inform the AU and ECOWAS Commissions within a period of one week” whether they would deploy troops in Mali.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has also pledged to support the French war by sending 5,800 soldiers to Mali.

On January 11, France launched the war under the pretext of halting the advance of the fighters who control the north of Mali. The United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark have said they would support the French war.

French officials said on Friday that French troops along with Malian troopers advanced on the fighters’ stronghold in the city of Gao after recapturing the northern town of Hombori.

Earlier in the day, France with the help of the Malian Army imposed media restrictions on the developments on the ground.

Meanwhile, local officials said fighters, based in the Malian town of Ansongo, destroyed a bridge near the Nigerien border in an attempt to stop the advance of African troops, who are stationed in neighboring Niger and are expected to cross into Mali to attack the fighters.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned that the war in Mali could leave at least 700,000 people homeless.

Some political analysts believe that Mali’s abandoned natural resources, including gold and uranium reserves, could be one of the reasons behind the French war.