Mali crisis to dominate AU summit
By Mourad Anouar
Morocco News Tribune
Oklahoma City, U.S.A–African leaders meeting in Addis Ababa at the African Union summit are to discuss the crisis in Mali along with other issues.
The AU summit, officially themed “Pan Africanism and African Renaissance”, kicked off the 50th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Organization of African Unity.
Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said today that Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is slated to replace Yayi.
The situation in Mali, though, will most likely dominate the summit, which will urge African countries to speed up the deployment of an African force to help with the ongoing conflict in Mali.
James Bays, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor, reported to the channel from Addis Ababa that “So far only about 1,000 of those African soldiers are in Mali, and most of them are nowhere near the front line,” he added “So there will be questions about the speed of deployments, with some observers wondering if African nations are waiting until the French finish the big battles.”
Omar al-Bashir vs. Salva Kiir
The Sudanese leader Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his southern counterpart Salva Kiir had face- to-face talks ahead of the summit. The two leaders who signed a series of agreements in September, which have yet to be implemented, have more key issues to resolve such as oil and border disputes since South Sudan became independent from the north a year ago.
U.N
“Africa has the experience to forge solutions to its own challenges and contribute to global goals of inclusive growth, social justice and protecting the environment, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told African leaders at the opening session of the 20th Summit of the African Union Sunday, according to Panapress
On the other hand, Djinnit, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, told the Security Council in a briefing Thursday according to U.N website “As developments unfold in Mali, the risks for infiltration and destabilization are real in some of the countries bordering Mali, as illustrated by the efforts of neighboring countries to tighten security along the borders,”
Benin
The president of Benin and the outgoing chairman of the AU, Boni Yayi, praised France for its intervention in Mali. Yani said “I want to salute France. We should have done a long time ago to defend a member country.”
President Moncef Marzouki
President Moncef Marzouki said on Saturday that he will represent Tunisia in the twentieth Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa in what he called “to boost its (Tunisia) African belonging.
Iran
Invited by AU Commission Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to attend also the 20th summit of the African Union, where is supposed to discuss Tehran’s cooperation with the AU and diplomatic relations with some African countries, meet several African heads of state and foreign ministers, elaborate on Iran’s national and international policies, and attend press conferences, according to Iranian news websites.
African Union Peace and Security Commission
African Union Peace and Security Commissioner, Ramtane Lamamra said: “Council reiterates this determination to impose sanctions against terrorists and criminal groups operating in Northern Mali, as well as against any other armed groups that impede the search for solution to the crisis and the efforts of ECOWAS and AU.”
Institute of Africa Anatoly Savateev
Voice of Russia quoted an expert at institute of Africa Anatoly Savateev” The crisis in Mali has stirred up a new wave of tension already known thanks to the Arab Spring uprising which ousted many secular regimes. They were, however, replaced by radical Islamists who seek control of the entire continent. As a result, violence will affect Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Mauritania, Nigeria, Algeria and other countries”