West African bloc urges ‘war crimes’ probe in north Mali

MALI: West African presidents said at a crisis summit on Mali Saturday that the international war crimes court should probe abuses committed in the country’s Islamist-held desert north.

The six leaders also urged Malian civil leaders to secure a national unity government that could address the crisis that has hit their country since a March 22 military coup accelerated a northern rebel advance.

At a conference in the Burkina Faso capital, the leaders also asked for an end to hostilities between all parties in Mali before the Ramadan Muslim month of fasting starts on July 20.

However, Mali’s president and prime minister were not at the summit, northern representatives walked out, and supporters of the military coup that threw Mali into turmoil staged a counter demonstration in Bamako.

Mali, once a beacon of stability in west Africa, was thrown into chaos by the March 22 coup, which allowed ethnic Tuareg separatists and Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists to sweep across the north in a rapid offensive.

The Islamists have since chased the Tuareg out of key towns, imposed sharia law, and last week destroyed ancient Muslim shrines they deemed un-Islamic in the UN world heritage-listed desert city of Timbuktu.

AFP