| abstract | - Initially, the mission was to begin in September 2013, but after an unexpected advance by the rebel forces in early January 2013 and the subsequent French intervention, ECOWAS decided to immediately deploy the AFISMA forces. On 17 January, Nigeria began deploying air and ground forces to Mali. The Nigerian deployment was followed by the arrival of a 160-man contingent from Burkina Faso the following week. The first commander of AFISMA is Nigerian Major General Abdulkadir Shehu. Meanwhile, the heads of state and government of ECOWAS have endorsed Major General Shehu of Nigeria as Force Commander and Brigadier General Yaye Garba of Niger as Deputy Force Commander. On January 31, the United States Department of State estimated that there were about 1,400 AFISMA troops from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Chad on the ground in Mali. The following forces have been committed to AFISMA:
* : One hundred Togolese soldiers arrived in Mali’s capital Bamako on the 18 January.
* : Sixty Senegalese troops were deployed from Dakar to Bamako on 20 January.
* : On 19 January, two Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jets were deployed from Abuja to Niamey, Niger, where they will be based. In addition, the Nigerian Air Force began deploying Mi-35 helicopters.
* : 1,800 Chadian troops secured and started patrolling Kidal in early February.
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