Russia and the West may support international military intervention in Mali

The UN Security Council may authorize the deployment of a foreign military contingent to Mali to counter al-Qaeda-linked groups and Tuareg separatists in the north of the country. Although the first editions of the document, the adoption of which France is actively lobbying, have been sent for revision, Kommersant's sources in Russian diplomatic circles assured that the text did not raise any fundamental objections from Moscow - it was simply not specific enough. After clarifications are made, the document will most likely be adopted unanimously. The threat posed by African Islamists and terrorists has once again united the UN Security Council, split over the issues of Syria and Iran.

The document, which was submitted for consideration by the Security Council, provides for the deployment of 3.3 thousand military personnel from the countries of the African Union and ECOWAS - the Economic Community of West Africa, which includes 15 states - to Mali. The African contingent, together with the Mali army, will launch an offensive in the north of the country, which is controlled by Tuareg separatists, as well as several Islamist groups, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

“The African Union and ECOWAS approached the UN Security Council with a proposal to organize a peacekeeping operation - they cannot do this without a Security Council mandate,” a Russian diplomatic source familiar with the situation told Kommersant. “However, their initiative was not sufficiently developed. In particular, they were not the goals and objectives of the mission, logistical and financial aspects were spelled out. In addition, the Africans did not have time to agree with the current leadership of Mali that it is ready to accept such a mission. As soon as the finalized and agreed upon draft resolution is presented to the UN Security Council, it will be reconsidered." .

“The Malians are not able to cope with the separatists themselves and restore territorial integrity,” admits a Kommersant source. “The situation is extremely alarming. A belt of instability may form from ocean to ocean with the center in northern Mali. A huge country is split in two. And there, completely uncontrolled northern territories, a cauldron has formed in which separatists, terrorists, and drug traffickers are boiling.” The situation is so threatening that against this background, as Russian diplomats say, all disagreements between the permanent members of the UN Security Council fade into the background.

Over the past 20 years, the desert regions of northern Mali have been the scene of armed clashes between the government army and Tuareg nomads. They are fighting to establish their own state of Azawad in the territories that make up five African countries, but mainly Mali and Niger. The situation on the Malian front worsened after the overthrow and death of Muammar Gaddafi. During the Libyan civil war, the Tuaregs fought on the side of the leader of the Jamahiriya - they were part of elite units equipped with the latest technology and communications equipment. After Gaddafi's defeat, the Tuaregs crossed the Sahara and joined their fellow tribesmen in northern Mali. Their contribution turned out to be decisive: government troops suffered several sensitive defeats, which provoked a military coup in Bamako, the capital of Mali.

The putschists hoped to rally the armed forces and achieve revenge, but the effect was exactly the opposite. The army collapsed and without resistance surrendered all the northern regions - almost two-thirds of the territory of Mali, equal in area to two Germanys. There, in April, the state of Azawad was proclaimed, power in which belongs not only to the Tuaregs, but also to Islamists from the groups Ansar al-Din, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and other radical movements, among which the Nigerian Boko stands out -Haram", carrying out terrorist attacks against Christians and blowing up churches.

The situation in Mali has become a major problem for dozens of African states, which also face the threat of destabilization, Islamization and separatism. In addition, there was a real danger that the self-proclaimed Azawad would turn into a second Somalia - a territory of chaos, a black hole where Islamic radicals from all over the world would find refuge and create their camps.

According to Kommersant's information, the events in Mali worry Moscow for one more reason: there is a risk that weapons imported from Libya will fall into the hands of terrorists. Russian experts are especially concerned about man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems, with the help of which al-Qaeda militants and other radical groups can shoot down civilian aircraft. To assess the scale of the threat, according to Kommersant's information, a special delegation from Moscow was even sent to Mali - the specialists' conclusions were disappointing.

Elena Chernenko, Maxim Yusin

Islamists rallied the Security Council