Nations Hope to Raise $400 Million for Mali
01/22/2013| 12:36pm US/Eastern
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BRUSSELS--National leaders hope to raise about $400 million at a donors' conference on Mali next week, European Union officials said Tuesday.
That amount would be split between the two military forces that are taking on the rebels who have surged out of northern Mali in recent days, a joint French-Mali force and a group of African-led troops.
The figure provides one of the first pictures of the scope of international aid that might be needed to support the military effort to push back the Mali insurgents. The figure is preliminary, EU officials stressed, and could change as leaders discuss the matter at the conference in Addis Ababa.
Earlier Tuesday, the EU said it would contribute 50 million euros ($66.57 million) to the African forces. EU officials didn't specify whether the money sought at the donors' conference would be in addition to this.
For now, France is the only non-African country that has undertaken a direct military intervention in Mali, with other countries donating equipment or money.
Write to Naftali Brendavid at naftali.brendavid@dowjones.com
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