PARIS: African leaders meet in Abidjan to discuss Niger's President Mahamadou Issofou said on Thursday that Afghan and Pakistani jihadis were training recruits for Extremist groups in northern Mali, the latest sign it is slipping into terrorist hands.
Speaking before a meeting with new French President Francois Hollande next week, Issofou told France 24 that talks to reach a peaceful solution in Mali continued, but a United Nations Security Council resolution to allow military intervention would be a necessity if they failed.
“We have information of the presence of Afghans, Pakistanis in northern Mali operating as trainers,” Issofou told the French TV network in Niamey. “They are training those that have been recruited in West African countries.”
Mali, once regarded as a fine example of African democracy, collapsed into chaos after soldiers toppled the president in March, leaving a power vacuum in the north that enabled Tuareg rebels to take control of nearly two-thirds of the country.
But the uprising also has involved a mix of local and foreign Extremists, who appear to be better armed and appear to have the upper hand in the rebel-occupied north with Western nations concerned about a real risk of the region turning into a West African Afghanistan.
“The jihadis control the situation in northern Mali,” he said. “The other forces with other objectives are marginal. The main forces are the jihadis and drug traffickers.”
Issofou said Niger had evidence that Boko Haram, an Extremist group that has become a security threat in Nigeria's north and fostered links with al Qaeda's north African wing (AQIM), was running training camps in the Malian town of Gao.
Residents and security experts say senior AQIM figures are appearing openly in the major towns in Mali's north, having previously been limited to remote desert regions.
“If terrorists implant themselves in Africa, they will threaten Europe,” Issofou said. “I see the necessity for a UN
Security Council resolution on the Mali situation to allow the use of force to restore integrity of Mali's territory. I am optimistic because Western powers are aware of the danger that threatens them in the Sahel.”
African leaders met in Abidjan on Thursday to hammer out details of the UN request for a military mandate in Mali.
