SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi says he is opposed to any military intervention in Mali and has called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the West African country.
The Egyptian president made the remarks at a meeting with African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Cairo on Monday, Xinhua reported.
Dlamini-Zuma, who is currently in Cairo to attend the 3rd forum for the UN secretary general's representatives and international envoys to Africa, said she is making efforts to promote African unity and AU self-reliance.
On October 13, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that gave the AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) 45 days to present the details of a plan for a military intervention in Mali.
On October 24, the member states of the AU agreed to finalize a plan for military intervention, led by African forces, by the end of October to help Bamako fight rebels.
However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that a military intervention would affect millions of people in the region.
Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure was toppled in a military coup on March 22. The coup leaders said they mounted the coup in response to the government's inability to contain the two-month-old Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country.
However, in the wake of the coup d’état, the Tuareg rebels took control of the entire northern desert region, but the Ansar Dine extremists pushed them aside and wrested control of all the northern desert regions, which are larger than France or Texas. — www.shafaqna.com/English
Source: Tehrantimes
