pnkrzero

Thanks for the response! I was also wondering if the "melting away" that you referred to earlier (in reply to Flying_Birdy) is a true retreat, or is there a pretty substantial fear that rebels are simply melting into the local populace and waiting for another chance after the areas cool back down? I seem to have read in an Al Jazeera article that this was a popular tactic with Malian military members when defeat seemed imminent. (Also, this is assuming that the rebels have an equal ability to "blend"...I'm not too certain about the amount of visually-identifiable discrepancies between the factions.)

Do you think that ECOWAS should assume primary responsibility for the suppression of insurgency, given their inexperience in sub-regional FIGO military intervention? Should the Security Council approve a peacekeeping mission in a leadership role to guide the efforts of ECOWAS and ensure an efficient counter attempt against the rebel forces?