Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed a U.N. peacekeeping force for Mali with 11,200 troops working alongside a non-U.N. force that would conduct major combat and counter-terrorism operations as one option to maintain security after French forces leave the crisis-wracked west African nation.
The U.N. chief said in a report to the Security Council Tuesday that another option would be to strengthen its new political mission in Mali and give the African-led force known as AFISMA, which is on the ground, responsibility for security and offensive combat operations, together with bilateral military efforts, as a prelude to a U.N. stabilization mission.
The secretary-general rejected a request from many Malians as well as the African Union and west African regional group for a U.N. force to undertake combat operations against terrorist groups.