UN Security Council, Ecowas and Mali

UN Security Council and Ecowas to meet on Mali

France has called on the Security Council to hold a meeting to discuss the situation in Mali, where Paris intervened on Friday to help fight the Islamist insurgency there. The meeting will take place Monday afternoon, a spokesman for the French UN Mission Brieuc Pont, said in a tweet posted Sunday.

This comes as the French operation in its former African colony enters its third day. On Sunday, French fighter jets bombed strongholds in northern Mali, targeting airports as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the Islamists controlling the area.  The militants are said to have links to al-Qaeda.

Ecowas on Monday made it known that the regional group will meet and discuss Mali. This comes after France, the erstwhile colonial master has taken up the challenge and lead to combat the Ansar Dine Islamists. The United Nations last year September gave Ecowas the green light to tackle the insurgency in Mali but the group decided to act in autumn giving the rebels more time to act and cover more tracks.

France has been heavily bombarding the rebels with heavy firepower but has met stiff and unflagging resistance from the islamists too. The rebels are reported to be in possession of heavy ammunitions with sophisticated trainings and military skills.