NIGERIA TO SEND 700 SOLDIERS TO MALI FOR PEACE KEEPING

Nigerian Soldiers set for peace keeping mission

As militants continue to disturb the peace in strife-torn Mali Nigeria is expected to contribute between 600 and 700 of the 3,300 troops billed for deployment, Masquerade234 has learnt.

Going by the decision of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union late Tuesday, the continental body has in effect asked the United Nations Security Council to endorse a military intervention to free northern Mali from Islamist extremists affiliated with al Qaida. According to the plan made available to The Masquerade234, besides the troops coming from Nigeria, neighbouring Niger would send about 500 and the remainder of the troops is expected to be from other African countries. The force would be joined by some 5,500 loyal Malian troops.

Mutinous soldiers overthrew Mali’s democratically elected president in March, creating a power vacuum that paved the way for Islamists to grab the North, an area the size of France. Since then, Islamic fundamentalists have imposed strict Sharia law, banning music and whipping, amputating and stoning to death people convicted of crimes.

Also reporting the latest development yesterday, the Associated Press (AP) said air power and technical and logistical support would be provided by France or the United States, as long as the plan is approved by the United Nations (UN).

Many western countries fear that northern Mali and the arid Sahel region could become the new Afghanistan, a no-man’s-land where extremists can train, impose hard-line Islamic law and plot terror attacks abroad.


But hand-in-hand with plans for an international military intervention in northern Mali, diplomats are still trying to resolve the country’s crisis through negotiation.