The United Nations is seriously considering sending peacekeepers to Mail, according to one official with the global body.
The hold-up is Mali; the United Nations needs the country’s consent to proceed, United Press International reports.
“As you know, for any peacekeeping operation, we need the consent, the actual request of the host country,” said U.N. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous, in the UPI report.
France sent military forces into Mali — at Mali’s request — in January, to help fight off al Qaeda militants who were making inroads into the south, UPI reported. Mali’s government had already ceded control of the north to al Qaeda in 2012.
The U.N. Security Council has already given the thumbs-up to force to help stabilize Mali, UPI said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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