ECOWAS DEFENCE CHIEFS TO DISCUSS MODALITIES FOR TRANSFORMATION OF AFISMA INTO UN MISSION IN MALI

ABUJA, Nigeria, May 13, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The modalities for the transformation of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) into a UN Mission will be discussed at a two-day meeting of the sub-Committee of the ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) which opens in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on Saturday, 11th May 2013.

The UN Security Council authorized the transformation of AFISMA into a 12,800-strong Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) by July 1, 2013.

The CCDS seven-member sub-committee will also discuss AFISMA's status of deployment.

The sub-committee is made of the Chiefs of Defence Staff of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, as the chair.