Los líderes africanos se reúnen en Etiopía en medio de crisis de Malí

ADDIS ABEBA, Etiopía (AP) - Los líderes africanos se reunieron en la capital de Etiopía domingo para conversaciones dominadas por el conflicto en Malí, así como las cuestiones territoriales persistentes entre los dos Sudans.

La Unión Africana dice que va a desplegar una fuerza en Malí, donde las tropas francesas están ayudando al ejército maliense para hacer retroceder a los extremistas islámicos cuya rebelión amenaza con dividir a la nación de África Occidental.

Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas, Ban Ki-moon asistirá a la cumbre de dos días en Addis Abeba, donde el primer ministro etíope Hailemariam Desalegn se hizo cargo del presidente Yayi Boni de Benin como presidente de la Unión Africana.

“Estamos decididos a hacer lo que podamos para ayudar al pueblo de Malí, en sus momentos de necesidad,” Ban dijo. “Las agencias humanitarias están ayudando a los civiles que sufren. Las Naciones Unidas también ha enviado especialistas en las pistas militares y políticos. Se trata de un imperativo moral para todos en la comunidad internacional. He presentado al Consejo de Seguridad mi recomendación sobre el paquete de apoyo logístico para (la fuerza de Malí).”

Con Malí en la parte superior de la agenda, Los líderes africanos esperan que puedan avanzar rápido en el despliegue de un número sustancial de tropas africanas no. A medida que los líderes africanos se reunieron, Fuerzas especiales francesas que luchaban junto a las tropas malienses estaban presionando más al norte en el desierto de Mali en una ofensiva contra los islamistas vinculados a Al Qaeda-que tomaron el control del norte de Malí hace más de nueve meses.

El auge económico de África se ve amenazada por los conflictos violentos en todo el continente, Dijeron funcionarios de la Unión Africana en la cumbre.

“While we are proud of the progress made in expanding and consolidating peace and security on the continent, we also acknowledge that much still needs to be done to resolve ongoing, renewed and new conflict situations in a number of countries,” said African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Dlamini-Zuma said the Peace and Security Council of the African Union will report to the summit on efforts to resolve conflicts in countries ranging from Mali to Madagascar.

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union said in a statement Saturday that it wanted “the early operationalization of the African Standby Force” in Mali. The council also said it fully supports Mali President Dioncounda Traore but urged him to put in place a roadmap to free and fair elections. It also said the African Union is committed to preserving the unity of Mali and would “spare no efforts” to safeguard the country’s territorial integrity.

A number of African countries have pledged to send troops to Mali, and on Tuesday the African Union will hold a conference of donors with hopes that money will be raised for the Mali force. The Peace and Security Council of the African Union urged member states to “seize the opportunity of the donors’ conferencia … to meaningfully contribute toward the mobilization of the necessary resources.”

The council also urged the international community to contribute generously to the Mali force.

Mientras tanto, the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan met at the summit in Addis Ababa, although African Union officials said they did not expect them to make much headway. South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Sudan President Omar al-Bashir earlier this month agreed to “the unconditional and speedy” implementation of deals they had reached back in September. But a subsequent meeting of the two countries’ negotiating teams that should have outlined timetable for the deal’s implementation ended in disagreement.

Ban urged the two Sudans to resume direct talks and spoke of the “dangerous humanitarian situation in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.”

“In Sudan and South Sudan the parties have taken positive steps to resolve outstanding issues,” Ban said. “But they should make more progress in meeting their agreements.”

Mediators led by former South African leader Thabo Mbeki have until July to push the two sides to agree on the status of the disputed Abyei region as well as other contested border areas.

Fuente: yahoo.com