W Africa summit opens on military plan for north Mali

West African leaders gathered for an emergency summit on Sunday to plot a military strategy to wrest back control of northern Mali from Islamist groups as fears grow over the risks the extremists pose to the region and beyond. Leaders from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States gathered in the Nigerian capital Abuja to approve a military blueprint that will eventually be sent via the African Union to the UN Security Council for review. Representatives from countries outside ECOWAS were also invited, including from Mauritania and Algeria, which neighbour Mali, as well as South Africa and Morocco, which currently hold seats on the UN Security Council. "Maximum pressure must be maintained with a strengthened military intervention plan," UN special representative for West Africa Said Djinnit told AFP. "Everybody wants a military intervention that targets only the terrorists... Our preferred option remains dialogue." Discussions so far have involved the deployment of more than 3,000 troops from the region, with more contributions to be requested from other countries. An ECOWAS source has said military chiefs were requesting a total of 5,500 troops.