ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff on Friday in Abidjan concluded plans to deploy military forces to intervene in the ongoing crisis in Mali, keeping the details sealed.
The West Africa Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting, which started around 11 a.m., lasted till after midnight the next day.
The Chairman of the ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff, Gen. Soumaila Bakayoko, told newsmen after the meeting that the plan was two-pronged.
He said that the first it was to restore constitutional government in Mali, while the second was to check the excesses of the rebels in the North.
Bakayoko said that the plan was elaborately discussed with timelines, logistics and the share of military officers required from each country.
He said that 3,000 soldiers would be deployed to Mali to restore peace and order in the country.
Insecurity in Mali was heightened by insurgence in the northern part of the country by Tuareg rebels and a coup by some military officers that ousted the elected government.
The government was overthrown seven weeks before an election.?
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