African Union Asks United Nations to Finance Intervention in Mali
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Version 0 of 1. The African Union appealed on Wednesday for the United Nations to pay for a military operation to combat Islamist extremists in northern Mali after the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, cautiously recommended that the Security Council approve the force without financing it. Mali descended into chaos in March when soldiers toppled the president, leaving a power vacuum that enabled rebels to seize two-thirds of the country. Islamist extremists, some allied with Al Qaeda, have hijacked the revolt. The African Union observer to the United Nations, Antonio Tete, told the 15-member Security Council that the deployment and operations of an African force of 3,300 troops would need money from the United Nations “to ensure sustained and predictable support to the mission.” Diplomats said the African Union and France, the most vocal Western backer of a plan for African troops to retake northern Mali, were angry that Mr. Ban had not offered United Nations financing. |