Security at the fore, as the African Union Summit Opens

Just a week ago, leaders from the West African bloc – ECOWAS – gathered in Abidjan, for a meeting on the ongoing combat in Mali, involving French and African forces, pushing back insurgents from their strong hold in Northern Mali. The meeting fostered support for the fighting there, sought for more International and African support, and Nigeria decided to intervene. Fast-forward to today, leaders in African countries have gathered in Addis Ababa, in a summit organized by their African Union (AU) bloc, where conversation is on the fighting in Mali, other places in Africa, and winning the war against insurgents. The Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, is at the meeting, after his itinerary of the past week took him around countries for matters relating to the growth and development of Nigeria. In a remark, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said, “While we are proud of the progress made in expanding and consolidating peace and security on the continent, we also acknowledge that much still needs to be done to resolve ongoing, renewed and new conflict situations in a number of countries.” The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, will be attending the summit.