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                        West African Troops Head to Mali

   by VOA News

   West African nations are mobilizing troops for Mali, where French and
   Malian forces have converged on an area held by Islamist militants who
   control the northern part of the country.
   Regional military chiefs say 2,000 troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad,
   Burkina Faso and Togo will soon arrive in Mali - some beginning
   Thursday - as part of an intervention force authorized by the United
   Nations.
   African Union Deputy Commissioner Erastus Mwencha said the organization
   always seeks a peaceful resolution, but he says there is a need now for
   a force to deploy in Mali.
   "We need to send a strong signal to the separatists and the people who
   are there that the action cannot be tolerated, and we need to
   eventually to get - our expectation finally is to restore peace to make
   sure Mali remains as an integral state and that the state is in charge,
   that Mali is in charge of its own affairs," he said.
   A reporter for VOA's French to Africa Service spoke to a resident of
   Diabaly, who said Wednesday Malian army personnel had surrounded the
   town.  Militants seized Diabaly earlier this week.
   Also Wednesday, the U.S. military said it is providing air transport
   and in-air refueling for the operation in Mali.  U.S. officials have
   repeatedly said the U.S. is not involved in the fighting.
   ''France sent troops into Mali on Friday at the request of the
   country's interim government, as Islamist fighters began an offensive.
   France says it will eventually deploy 2,500 soldiers who will stay in
   Mali until the situation is stable.
   Al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists seized control of northern Mali
   after renegade soldiers toppled the government in March, leaving a
   temporary power vacuum.  The militants have imposed harsh conservative
   Islamic law across the north.
   Western and United Nations officials are concerned that the Islamists
   could turn Mali into a base for terrorists and criminals.
   Mali is a former French colony and France still has a variety of
   economic and political interests there.
   President Francois Hollande says France's goals are stopping terrorist
   aggression, securing Bamako and allowing Mali to recover its
   territorial integrity.  He says France will support the African force
   that soon will be in Mali.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/west-african-troops-head-to-mali/1585
   548.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/west-african-troops-head-to-mali/1585548.html