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UN Envoy Welcomes Transitional Government in Mali

Margaret Besheer

   NEW YORK - The U.N.'s top envoy for Mali said Thursday that "success is
   within reach" with the formation of a transitional civilian government
   and the lifting of crippling sanctions imposed by West African regional
   bloc, ECOWAS.

   "The transition stands as an opportunity for the people of Mali to
   emerge themselves and pull their country out of this hellish cycle,
   which has seen a succession of coup d'états," U.N. Special
   Representative Mahamat Saleh Annadif told a U.N. Security Council
   meeting on the West African nation.

   The U.N. has more than 14,000 peacekeepers and police in Mali. Because
   of the presence of extremist and terrorist groups in northern and
   central parts of the country, it is one of the U.N.'s most dangerous
   missions, with at least 220 peacekeepers killed since the mission was
   established in 2013.

   Annadif said there is reason to hope for the quick implementation of
   the Transitional National Council, which is the legislative body for
   the 18-month transition period.

   "This transition must lead to the holding of open, free and transparent
   elections within 18 months and the restoration of constitutional
   order," said France's U.N. envoy, Nicolas de Rivière. "France
   encourages the new authorities to take advantage of this period to lay
   the foundations for institutional reform."

   On Aug. 18, following anti-government street protests, Malian President
   Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was ousted in a widely condemned military coup.
   Regional bloc ECOWAS suspended Mali from its institutions and imposed
   sanctions, including an air embargo and suspension of financial
   transactions, pending the formation of a civilian transitional
   government. That government was formed on Monday, and on Tuesday, the
   West African bloc announced it had decided to lift the measures.

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