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The Malian government said on Thursday through an official statement that a military option is "inevitable" to liberate the northern parts of the country from the hands of extremists.
"Even though the government has expressed its desire to find a solution through negotiations, the actions of the terrorists and drug traffickers who have hidden behind religion, have made a military option to be inevitable," the government statement noted.
"The government has accelerated its plans with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to recover the North," the statement said.
According to the statement, the extremists cut off a hand of a suspected thief in Ansongo, about 90 km from Gao in northern Mali, near the Nigerien border.
"The extremists occupying northern Mali, by cutting off a hand of a resident of Ansongo, have added a new disgusting action on the long list of their abuses and humiliation of the residents of the northern region," the statement said.
In conclusion, the statement pointed out that the continued violations of human rights by extremists in northern Mali was a challenge that should be tackled by the Malian government, Africa and the rest of the international community. |
