As UN Mobilises Support
PRESIDENT Barack Obama has thrown his full weight behind the Nigeria-led African International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).
The US President, who resumed his second term in office last Sunday, is calling for prompt international action to fully establish the Nigerian-led African force
This is as the United NationsSecurity Council had pondered on the same issue at least twice during the week at the New York headquarters of the global body.
Although Obama did not announce specific measures,The Guardian learnt that the US has been playing strategic role in facilitating the movements and logistics for Nigeria troops.
A White House statement released on Friday night disclosed that both Obama and President Francois Hollande of France spoke earlier in the day over the situation in Mali, among others and they actually “emphasised the need to rapidly establish the African-led International Support Mission in Mali.”
Nigeria’s Major-General Shehu Usman Abdulkadir leads the force.
The outcome of the Obama and Hollande’s telephone discussion released by White House caps what has, in fact, been a raft of international actions on Mali and Nigeria’s role in it, as one of the major international players.
Nigeria is taking the lead in quelling what is clearly a contagious crisis laced dangerously by terrorist networks from Boko Haram, Ansaru and the terrorists’ rebels in Mali.
UN officials warned, over theweekend, that, “as developments unfold in Mali, the risks for infiltration and destabilisation are real in some of the countries bordering Mali.”
This was, as illustrated “by the efforts of neighbouring countries to tighten security along the borders,” Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, told the Security Council in a briefing on Friday.
For instance, in an interviewwith the CNN and Al Jazeera earlier in the week, President Goodluck Jonathanmade the connection betweenBoko Haram terrorists in Nigeria and the rebels in Mali, saying in one of the media chats that Boko Haramtrains terrorists in Mali.
Besides, at the UN, Secretary Ban Ki-moon wroteto the Security Council on Monday, that Nigeria and other nations in AFISMA would need international support, a theme Obama andHollande repeated on Friday.
Fielding questions from the UN media, Ban said his letterto the Council outlined, “options for a UN logistical support package to AFISMA.”
“In order for AFISMA to become operational and implement its mandated tasks, the force requires critical logistical support,” hesaid.
On Tuesday, top UN officials told members of the UN Security Council at a meeting that Nigeria had already suffered an attack for its perceived role in Mali.
According to Jeffrey Feltman,the UN Undersecretary for Political Affairs, while addressing the UN Security Council on the Mali situation, told the members that,

“Nigerian troops on the way to Mali had been attacked on20 January in northern Nigeria by the Boko Haram.”
Specifically regarding Mali, the White House said President Obama “expressed his support for France’s leadership of the international community’s efforts to deny terrorists a safe haven in Mali.”
President Hollande thanked President Obama for the significant support provided by the United States to this effort, while “the two leaders emphasised the need to rapidly establish theAfrican-led International Support Mission in Mali, as well as the importance of theInterim Government of Mali establishing a political roadmap that will lead to elections and restoration of democratic governance.”
The UN Security Council also received reports from the deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Usman Sarki that “Nigeria had commencedthe accelerated deployment of 1,200 troops to Mali.”
Sarki disclosed that ECOWASHeads of State and Government had also recently endorsed Nigerian Major General Shehu Usman Abdulkadir as Force Commander of AFISMA, adding that the role of President Jonathan, as an Associate Mediator in Mali, was another reflection of Nigeria’s deep concern and interest in the security situation in Mali and the region as a whole.
But there are challenges. The UN Secretary-General himself noted that, “humanitarian agencies are working to meet the growing needs of a crisis that has forced 350,000 people to flee their homes.”
While Nigeria deployed a battalion, other troops were being mobilised from Benin, Senegal and Togo, the agreed envisaged AFISMA strength of 3,300 personnel still had to be increased if it was to engage effectively in offensive operations and enhance force protection, the UN official said.
Feltman disclosed that, “AFISMA is currently facing critical gaps, including communications capacity, air mobility and medical capabilities.”
As President Jonathan warned in his media chats this week, Mr. Djinnit, who heads the UN Office for WestAfrica (UNOWA), said the situation in Mali has heightened the overall terrorism threat in the sub-region, adding that the international community must remain mindful of the limitations faced by Mali’s neighbours, and enhance support in the areas of border control and counter-terrorism, among others.