President of Chad Idriss Deby has called for a quicker deployment of African troops in Mali at a two-day meeting of West African heads of states that started Wednesday in Ivory Coast, with a focus on regional security and terrorism. He called on the regional block to accelerate deployment of its troops to the north of Mali to insure it did not fall again to Islamist insurgents.
While Chad is not part of the 15-member ECOWAS, it has sent about 2,000 soldiers to support the French-led military operation that has entered its seventh week. Soldiers seek to flush out al-Qaeda-linked rebels from Mali's north.
Most of the summit wil reportedly be behind closed doors. It comes after the Mediation and Security Council of the 15-member ECOWAS on Monday called to increase the number of West African soldiers to be deployed in Mali.
The revised concept of the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) calls for 8,000 troops instead of the planned 3,700 soldiers, and for a robust police and civilian component.
The summit opened with a silent tribute to the Chadian, Togolese and French soldiers who lost their lives in the clashes against jihadist insurgents in Mali.