Niger will send 500 soldiers to Mali

Niger announced Saturday that it will send 500 soldiers to Northern Mali to help resolve its crisis, Niger's Foreign Minister Bazoum Mohamed confirmed the news. Some media said Burkina Faso, who is also a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has also pledged the same number of troops. Leaders of the ECOWAS has authorized the deployment of an African-led international force to flush out rebel groups from northern Mali in order to restore security in the West African country In a statement, the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, President Alassane Ouattara, said that measures would be taken to implement the decision to assist the Malian Army to defend the nation's territorial integrity. The UN recently asked the AU and ECOWAS to produce a detailed plan for a possible military intervention in northern Mali.