French and Malian troops are advancing in their objective to regain the territory in the north now occupied by armed Islamic groups, and the Bamako authorities are convinced that the war will soon be over. Nevertheless, the humanitarian situation is a deep concern, with over 370,000 displaced persons and a serious food crisis, as the European Union has denounced. Moreover, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has informed President of Mali Dioncounda Traoré of his concern over human rights violations and has asked Traoré to ensure and enforce respect for humanitarian law. Ban pointed out the importance of pursuing a political process that leads to a roadmap for transition.
Italy’s contribution
Italy has offered its contribution toward a solution to the Mali crisis in the form of trainers (from 15 to 24) within the context of the EU training mission. Logistical support for France, Terzi underscored, “is a priority that we are confident the next parliament will confront”, but “at the moment the political conditions are lacking”, in this “parliamentary phase with a resigning government”.
Terzi reiterated the Italian government’s “strong political support and total involvement on the level of international diplomacy” for the French operations in Mali, but that at the present time “a direct form of support is hindered by domestic political conditions”. In the current parliamentary phase, Terzi then specified, there aren’t the conditions “to pass a law, a legal provision that would allow us to provide more direct logistical support for the operations. And this is the point that we intend to more fully analyse”.
