African organisation OKs troops for Mali

An African organization approved a plan that could send 3,300 troops to Mali to help expel Islamic extremists who seized control of its northern territory. A spokesman for the Economic Community of West African States said the action Sunday was the first in a series of steps needed before any troops are deployed to the troubled nation, CNN reported Monday. The ECOWAS proposal states most of the troops would be from Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger, and the one-year mandate would begin following a vote by the United Nations, CNN said. "ECOWAS has adopted the concept of operation for a military force," spokesman Sunny Ugoh told CNN in a telephone interview. "This will now be presented to the African Union Peace and Security Council, and from there to the United Nations Security Council." A U.N. resolution adopted last month demanded that armed groups stop human rights abuses and humanitarian violations in northern Mali. Militants tied to al-Qaida seized control of Timbuktu and northern Mali after a military coup in March. After taking control, they imposed a strict form of Islamic law and received international condemnation for destroying ancient tombs recognized as U.N. world heritage sites. ECOWAS, meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, said the organization's nations prefer negotiating a settlement.