Assembly/AU/Decl.1(XIX) Page 3 Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger, for hosting Malian refugees and for their support and assistance. Council ALSO THANKS all humanitarian agencies providing support to the affected populations; 6. REITERATES THE FULL SUPPORT of the AU to the ECOWAS efforts aimed at resolving the crisis in Mali. In this regard, Council PAYS TRIBUTE to President Alassane Dramane Ouattara, President of Côte d’Ivoire and current Chairman of ECOWAS, President Blaise Compaore, President of Burkina Faso and Mediator in the Malian crisis, President Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria and Associate Mediator, and the other members of the ECOWAS Contact Group on Mali, as well as to President Thomas Yayi Boni, President of Benin and Chairman of the AU, for their commitment and sustained efforts. Council ALSO NOTES WITH SATISFACTION the action of the core countries. Council WELCOMES the interaction that has developed between ECOWAS and the core countries, and ENCOURAGES all stakeholders to continue on this path, in accordance with its decision of 20 March 2012, in Bamako [PSC/MIN/COMM.(CCCXIV)]; 7. ENDORSES the communiqués issued by the 41st Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Yamoussoukro, on 28 and 29 June 2012, and the second meeting of the ECOWAS Contact Group on Mali, held in Ouagadougou, on 7 July 2012. Council ALSO WELCOMES the adoption, on 5 July 2012, by the UN Security Council of resolution 2056(2012); 8. REITERATES ITS STRONG CONDEMNATION of the physical assault against the interim President, Mr. Dioncounda Traore, and REQUESTS the Chairperson of the Commission, in collaboration with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, to put in place, with the support of the UN, an international commission of inquiry to shed light on the assault and to identify its perpetrators and sponsors, with a view to bringing them to justice. Council REQUESTS the current authorities, working closely with ECOWAS, to facilitate the return to Mali of the interim President, to enable him to fully and effectively assume his responsibilities; 9. REITERATES the urgent need to strengthen the transitional institutions, to enable Mali to address the serious challenges it faces, particularly in the northern part of the country. In this regard, Council DEMANDS an end to the unacceptable interference of the military junta and their civilian supporters in the management of the transition and the effective dissolution of the National Committee for the Recovery of Democracy and the Restoration of the State (CNRDRE).