(AP) Bamako – “We, the people of the Azawad,” they said in a statement published on the rebel website, “proclaim the irrevocable independence of the state of the Azawad starting from this day, Friday, April 6, 2012.”
The military chiefs of 13 of Mali’s neighbors met Thursday in Ivory Coast to start hashing out plans for a military intervention in order to restore constitutional rule in the capital, which is in the south, and push back the rebels in the north. France has said it is willing to offer logistical support for the operation.