President J. A. Kufuor on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 received a joint UN/ECOWAS mission that is in Accra as part of on-going consultations aimed at bringing about peace, security and stability to the north of Mali, Niger and Mauritania. This has been necessitated by the woorying renewed rebel activity in the area. The Tuareg rebels have increased their attacks in recent times despite attempts by the governments of these countries to dialogue with them. Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, President of the ECOWAS Commission, who led the mission, said the delegation was in Ghana to brief President Kufuor on the disturbing situation. The visit was also to afford the delegation the opportunity to seek President Kufuor’s advice on how to effectively deal with crises drawing especially from Liberia Cote d’Ivoire experiences. He was accompanied by General Lamine Cisse, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative to West Africa. They have already been to Guinea, Mauritania, Niger and Mali and would travel to Burkina Faso to meet with ECOWAS Chairman, President Blaise Compaore. Dr Chambas said what was refreshing was the determination by the international community to work with the sub-regional body to meet the challenge of dealing with the rebel question. He said the UN was closely collaborating with the Commission to strengthen the early warning mechanisms to ensure swift response to avert any major catastrophe. President Kufuor said it was important to make the African Union (AU) a part of the effort at finding lasting solutions to the situation in Mali, Niger and Mauritania. The President noted that the borders of Sahelian countries such as Mali and Niger were such that, with their limited resources, it would be an uphill task if they were left to tackle the challenges individually. He said it was on the basis of this that the UN’s involvement was significant. Source: GNA