Malian President in Mauritania for crisis talks

Acting President of Mali Dioncounda Traoré has arrived in the Mauritanian capital for a two-day visit aimed at discussing security conditions in northern Mali with Nouakchott officials. The visit marks Traoré's first since taking the post in April 2012 in a coup that toppled former leader Amadou Toumani Touré. Mauritanian President Ould Abdel Aziz met the Malian leader at Nouakchott International Airport, before beginning two days of talks concerning the French-African intervention to uproot Islamist militias in the country’s north. Abdel Aziz told a press conference last week he was prepared to send Mauritanian troops to Mali as border protection. Mauritanian soldiers would not participate in the ongoing conflict though, he said.