"This is no longer the time for indecision but for concerted action," ECOWAS Commission chief Kadre Desire Ouedraogo said, adding that action must be taken against "criminals of all sorts who occupy northern Mali". Youssoufou Bamba, Ivory Coast's ambassador to the UN, speaking for ECOWAS, told the Security Council in New York on Monday that the West African nations need fighter jets and other international military support to beat the Islamists who seized northern Mali.