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The UN Security Council has authorised military action to take northern Mali from the control of al-Qaeda-linked extremists.
A unanimously adopted resolution stressed that there must be a two-track plan, political and military, to reunify the country, which has been in turmoil since a coup in March.
The UNSC authorised an African-led force to support Malian authorities in recovering the north but set no timeline for military action.
Instead, it set out benchmarks to be met before the start of offensive operations, starting with progress on a political roadmap to restore constitutional order.
The resolution also emphasises that further military planning is needed before the African-led force is sent to the north and asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to “confirm in advance the council’s satisfaction with the planned military offensive operation”.
UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said recently he does not expect a military operation to begin until September or October of next year.
Mali was plunged into turmoil after a coup in March created a security vacuum.
That allowed secular Tuaregs, who have long felt marginalized by Mali’s government, to take half the north as a new homeland.
But months later, the rebels were kicked out by Islamist groups allied with al-Qaeda, which have now imposed strict Sharia law in the north.
Coup members created new political turmoil earlier this month when they arrested the country’s prime minister in a move that raised new concerns about the ability of the Malian military to take part in the operation to retake the north.
The Security Council strongly condemned the Malian security forces for their continued interference in the work of the transitional authorities, and stressed the need to expeditiously restore democratic governance and constitutional order.
As the council spent months negotiating over what action to take, an Islamist group behind public executions and amputations in northern Mali, Ansar Dine, or “Defenders of the Faith,” has expanded its reach.
The fighters, whose territory includes Timbuktu, have stoned to death a couple accused of adultery, hacked off the hands of thieves and have recruited children as young as 12 into their ranks.
Heavily armed men also have attacked bars that sell alcohol, and banned men and women from socialising in the streets.
On 13 November, the African Union asked the Security Council to endorse a military intervention to free northern Mali.
The plan, agreed to by leaders of the West African bloc known as ECOWAS, called for 3,300 soldiers to be deployed to Mali for an initial period of one year.
The resolution authorises an African-led International Support Mission in Mali, to be known as AFISMA, for an initial period of one year but makes no mention of its size.
It welcomes troop contributions pledged by ECOWAS and calls on member states, including from the neighbouring Sahel region, to contribute troops to the mission.
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