Ecowas intervention force in Mali: the blockage persists

ECOWAS leaders are annoyed by the demands of the Malian authorities described  which they describe as being"unrealistic and unprofessional." The Malians do not want ECOWAS to have a base in Bamako , Ecowas points out that their forces will need a logistical base. President  Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso expressed the same idea,  saying that troop deployments must be a joint decision.

The Malian delegation to the UN Security Couincil conference on the Sahel   in New York on 26 September will be led  by Prime Minister Cheik Modibo Diarra  and not transitonal President Dioncounda Traoré. The question of who is really in charge in Bamako is giving cause for concern. 
 
Ealier UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman laid out the progress made in developing an integrated response strategy for the Sahel, as requested by the Secretary-General of the Security Council, in its resolution 2056 (2012) of 5 July. He laid out the enormous challenges facing the Sahel  in terms of security
,governance political, economic, humanitarian,and human rights challenges in Sahel The crisis had focused attention on the Sahel region.

Speaking after Jeremy Feltman,Côte d’Ivoire’s Ambassador, Youssoufou Bamba, on behalf of the Chairman of the Authority of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government  drew attention to the divisions in government in Mali and the actions of ex Junta members which were delaying the effective deployment of the ECOWAS force which had been requested by the transitional President Dioncounda Traoré.