Mali intervention planning intensifies

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that military invention in northern Mali is a "matter of weeks, not months" away after a UN Security Council resolution called for detailed plans of the operation. Nevertheless, there are doubts about the feasibility of this timeline, given the problems of turning the Malian military into an effective force.

On 12 October, the Security Council approved the French-presented Resolution 2071 calling for "detailed recommendations" on the concept of operations, the forces that would be involved, and the financial cost of supporting the intervention to be submitted by 26 November.

It said that military and security planners should be immediately provided to work closely with Mali's transitional authorities, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and Mali's neighbours. It added that the AU and European Union (EU) should also provide coordinated assistance to build Mali's military capacity as soon as possible.

The Council of the EU responded on 15 October by calling for the Union to examine the possibility of supporting the AU, the ECOWAS, as well as reorganising and training the Malian military.