Nigeria Sends 900 Troops To Mali

Nigerian troops being deployed to Mali will leave the country in the next 24 hours, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said.

The Director of Defence Information, Col. Mohammed Yerima, announced this yesterday in Abuja, while briefing newsmen on the deployment.

“President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered the immediate deployment of Nigerian troops to Mali and in the next 24 hours, a company of the battalion will leave.

“We are deploying a battalion plus, which is about 900 troops to Mali. At the moment, we are deploying about 190 troops and the remaining troops will be deployed later,” he said.

Yerima said that the degenerating crisis in Mali compelled the ECOWAS Heads of Government to intervene with the deployment of military forces.

He said that following the decision and in line with Nigeria’s acclaimed peacekeeping roles and in the spirit of African brotherhood, the President approved the deployment of the troops.

The defence spokesman said that the Commander of the troops, Maj.-Gen. Shehu Abdulkadir, was already in Mali.

“Also, a technical team of the Nigerian Army and Air Force is already in Mali to facilitate the eventual full deployment of a fighter aircraft and support elements.

“The Nigerian troops will work along with troops from other West African countries and some other Western forces, including that of France, which is already in Mali too,” he said.

Yerima noted that it was the UN Security Council Resolution 2085 of December 2012 that approved the deployment of the ECOWAS Security Force, following the request of the Malian Government.

He said the move was aimed at assisting Mali to reclaim its north from the Islamic militants.

Meanwhile West African defense chiefs yesterday approved plans to speed up the deployment of African troops against Islamist rebels in northern Mali, with some regional soldiers already arriving.

France has already poured hundreds of troops into Mali and carried out days of air strikes in a vast desert area seized last year by an Islamist alliance that combines al-Qaeda’s north African wing, AQIM with Mali’s home-grown MUJWA and Ansar Dine rebel groups.

Western and regional powers are concerned the insurgents will use Mali’s north as a launch-pad for international attacks.

The plan is being fast-tracked after France rushed to respond to a plea for help by Mali’s government after mobile columns of Islamist fighters last week threatened the central garrison towns of Mopti and Sevare, with its key airport.

The French defense ministry said on Monday it aimed to deploy some 2,500 soldiers to Mali to bolster the Malian army and the eventual West African force.

President Goodluck Jonathan (right) welcoming World Bank Vice President, Africa Region, Makhtar Diop, to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday