UN chief recommends African force in Mali become peacekeepers

PanARMENIAN.Net - An African force currently in Mali should be converted into a UN peacekeeping operation and a separate combat force should be created to confront Islamist threats, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended to the Security Council on Tuesday, March 26, according to Reuters.

The UN-backed African force in Mali is due to take over from France when it starts withdrawing its 4,000 troops from the country in late April.

In a report to the 15-member Security Council, Ban recommended that the African force, known as AFISMA, become a UN peacekeeping force of some 11,200 troops and 1,440 police - once major combat ends.

To tackle Islamist extremists directly, Ban recommended that a so-called parallel force be created, which would work in close coordination with the UN mission.

"Given the anticipated level and nature of the residual threat, there would be a fundamental requirement for a parallel force to operate in Mali alongside the UN mission in order to conduct major combat and counter-terrorism operations," Ban wrote.

France began a military offensive in January to drive out Islamist fighters, who had hijacked a revolt by Mali's Tuareg rebels and seized two-thirds of the West African country. Paris said Mali's vast desert North was in danger of becoming a springboard for extremist attacks on the region and the West.

In a nine-week operation French, Chadian and Malian troops have driven the Islamists into desert hideaways and mountains near the Algerian border. French President Francois Hollande said recently that Mali's sovereignty had almost been restored.

However, Islamist fighters attacked northern Mali's largest town, Gao, over the weekend. It was the third major offensive there by the rebels since the town was retaken by a French-led military operation in late January.

Ban said that once the African soldiers become a UN peacekeeping force, the majority of the troops and police would operate in the north of the country, while there would be a "light presence" based in the country's capital, Bamako.

"The force would operate under robust rules of engagement, with a mandate to use all necessary means to address threats to the implementation of its mandate, which would include protection of civilians," Ban said.

"This could include the conduct of operations on its own or in cooperation with the Malian ... forces," he said.

Ban also suggested that the Security Council consider establishing an independent group of experts to investigate transnational and organized crime in Mali with the possibility of imposing punitive, targeted sanctions.