(Image Source: DW.DE ) BY CHARESSE JAMES Anchor Candice Aviles West African leaders have urged for more global involvement to help ward off rebels in Mali after an emergency meeting in the Ivory Coast Saturday - while France called for a fast-tracked deployment of African troops to boost a French-backed offensive against the al-Qaeda linked group. Via Al Jazeera : “The French and Malians have made some progress against the rebels control of Konna and Diabaly” … “The operation is not to substitute the African-lead support mission to Mali. On the contrary, France’s objective is the implementation of the UN’s resolutions.” France currently has some 2,000 troops on the ground in Mali, attempting to seize control from a rebel group suspected of creating stronghold for al-Qaida terrorists. According to NBC News , the western nation has been accused of neo-colonialism for its speedy intervention in the African nation’s conflict. But despite the two countries’ tangled colonial past, the French assistance has been largely celebrated and appreciated. Mali was considered one of the most successful post-colonial democracies in Africa until March of last year, when a coup overthrew the presidents and Islamists, capitalizing on the chaos and established themselves in Mali’s large northernmost region. Via CNN : “The Tuareg were re-energized when thousands of fighters who were in Gaddafi's army returned home with their weapons.” ... “Those weapons are so sophisticated that the Malian army doesn’t stand a chance.” And while France is the only country to provide troops - prior to this West African call-to action, as many as nine other nations have already been providing other types of military assistance to level the conflict’s playing field. However some, like The Independent’s Adrian Hamilton , believe that while the situation in Mali is dire, a more unified global response would simply be recreating the mistakes of the past. “It was the same kind of reasoning, if you remember, which led the U.S. to launch its ‘War Against Terror’ in response to 9/11. And it’s the justification now being used by French politicians, with US and British approval, for sending the bombers into Mali. … We didn’t get it right then ... And we’re in danger of getting it wrong again in Africa.” But with the rebels’ deadly seizure of dozens of foreign workers at an Algerian gas complex earlier this week, others believe this might be a sign of a more adaptive and resilient al-Qaeda that is infiltrating “ungovernable” zones, and that the growing threat in Mali... “...underscores that we are dealing with a diffuse, resilient and extremely dangerous regional threat capable of spreading and taking over whole countries … What we’ve learned over the years is that the least effective response to this kind of terror and intimidation would be to withdraw.” According to Al Jazeera , amidst this conflict, concerns about the humanitarian situation in Mali have mounted, with U.N. estimating the fighting could displace 700,000 more people in the coming months.