United Nations (AFP) – UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Friday pressed Mali’s interim government to hold free elections as soon as possible as part of preparations for an international intervention force to end the country’s Islamist crisis.
Ban made the call during talks with Mali’s Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly on “the growing suffering of the Mali people” a day after the UN Security Council approved an African-led force that could confront Islamist groups in the north of the country, said a UN statement.
The UN leader has raised doubts about the force and publicly insisted on the need to exhaust efforts to reach a political settlement to end the occupation of northern Mali by Al-Qaeda linked groups since March.
Ban and western countries have also raised concerns about interference in the government by the Mali military, which staged a coup in March setting off the chaotic events which led to uprising by rebels and Islamists.
“The secretary general took the opportunity of his meeting with the foreign minister to urge all actors in Mali to swiftly finalize and implement a transitional roadmap leading to the holding of free, fair and transparent elections as soon as possible,” said the statement.
The UN secretary general “expressed his determination to strengthen his collaboration with the Malian authorities and international partners in the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2085, which emphasizes the importance of political dialogue and the pursuit of negotiations” and authorized the deployment of an African-led force.
The Security Council resolution passed Thursday gave the African-led force an initial one-year mandate to use “all necessary measures” to help the government take back the north of the country.
But the council insisted military force could only be used after political efforts were exhausted. It said military plans would have to be refined and approved by the council before any offensive started.
