Canada presses Mali military rulers to hold elections, help restore stability

OTTAWA – Canada is telling Mali’s military rulers to get on with the work of restoring democracy to the West African country following a coup last March.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has told Canada’s ambassador to Mali to formally deliver that diplomatic message to Malian officials.

An aide to Baird also says Ambassador Louis de Lormier will tell officials that the instability caused by the March 2012 coup allowed an al-Qaida affiliated group to take control of the country’s north.

Canada wants Mali to hold free and fair elections as soon as possible to restore international confidence.

Canada is also sending a C-17 heavy-lift military transport to support the French military, which is trying to stop the advance of the insurgents in the north.

Mali was a stable West African country until last year’s coup, which set off a chain of events that allowed a terrorist group set up a base in the country’s north.