W. Africa agrees 3,300-strong international Mali force

ABUJA, Nov 11, 2012  (AFP)

A West African summit on Sunday agreed on an international force of 3,300 troops with a one-year mandate to wrest control of northern Mali from Islamist extremists, Ivory Coast’s president said.

“We foresee 3,300 soldiers for a timeframe of one year,” Alassane Ouattara told journalists after the summit of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States in the Nigerian capital Abuja.