WASHINGTON, January 28 (RIA Novosti) – The International Monetary Fund approved on Monday the disbursement of about $18.4 million under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to Mali in support of the efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability and growth in the war-torn country during the next twelve months.

The IMF noted in a statement on its website that the Mali’s economy is going through “a particularly difficult period as a result of the 2011 drought, insurgent attacks in the north of the country and political instability in the wake of the military coup in March 2012.”

“The disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility is designed to help Mali deal with urgent balance of payments need and catalyze financial support from Mali’s international partners, which is critical to Mali’s economic recovery,” the statement said.

The West African nation of Mali has been in crisis since its Soviet-trained president Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup in March 2012, and a coalition of Islamist groups seized the north of the country.

The 15-member UN Security Council unanimously voted in December to give the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) an initial one-year mandate.

West African nations have set out plans to deploy 3,300 troops to help Mali retake its Islamist-occupied north and urged other UN members to provide financial and humanitarian aid to the conflict-torn country.

More than 2,000 Chadian soldiers and 500 troops from Niger are being deployed in Niger, near the Mali border, as part of the UN-mandated African force.

On Sunday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed to send additional troops to the country.

France deployed its own military contingent on January 10 to aid Mali’s government, whose army had been retreating before the attack of armed groups with ties to Al-Qaida. The French contingent on the ground now totals 2,800 troops.

The French intervention has so far allowed Mali’s government to recapture six towns, including the fabled Timbuktu, and to stop the rebels’ advance on key regions in the south of the country.