The Conservative government says Canada is ready to pro-vide support as calls for military intervention grew Thurs-day over fears the takeover gives the jihadists a base of operations, plus airports and military equipment, from which they can launch attacks across the region and against Western targets.
Such concerns have been the main argument for continued involvement in Afghanistan, where Canada will continue to deploy hundreds of military trainers until 2014.
Now there is a growing sense, bolstered by recent events in Mali and other countries across the Sahel - the belt spanning northern Africa from Sudan in the east to Senegal in the west - that the front line against Islamic extremism has shifted. "It's a serious situation because it is the first time terrorists have taken root in important cities and could be in a situation to implant themselves in an entire country," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thurs-day. "You have this risk - and threat that what is happening in northern Mali can happen in other areas."
The United Nations Security Council has condemned the violence and there are discussions about deploying an inter-national force to counter the threat posed by the Islamists. That force would be led by West African nations, the majority of whom are concerned about what would happen if the jihadists regroup and spread across the region. There is an expectation Western nations such as Canada would be asked to pro-vide support, particularly given the vast distances involved, the absence of logistical bases, and the strength of the Islamist forces.
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Canada is working with its partners to finds solutions to the crisis in Mali and "remains ready" to provide assistance to West African nations, in consultation with other partners, "once the needs for support have been defined."
"Canada remains concerned by the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Mali, a country facing a political, security and humanitarian crisis," spokesman Rick Roth added.
Canada is already no stranger to Mali.
As in Afghanistan, Canadian special forces troops helped train government soldiers in small-unit tactics, communications, first aid and other military skills in recent years.
Other Western nations have also been training armies in several countries throughout the region. The former French colony has received hundreds of millions in international assistance from Canada over the past 40 years.
Canada's training and development initiatives were suspended when a military coup ousted democratically elected President Amadou Toumani Toure in March. This created a power vacuum that was exploited by an alliance between separatist Tuareg tribesman and the Islamists, who captured the north.
That alliance has shattered, and there were reports Thurs-day the last Tuareg bastion had fallen to the jihadists, giving them complete control over an area the size of France.
"This situation has become worse so much faster than any-one thought it would," said Paul Hitschfeld, chair of the Ottawa-based Africa Study Group. "Now we're starting to see an Islamic terrorist belt across the Sahel region. This is a slightly scary situation."
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Lee Berthiaume
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