The use of military force cannot be effective in imposing order in strife-torn Mali, so Western countries should resort to political and economic talks to tackle the crisis, two Italian analysts told Xinhua in recent interviews.

Vittorio Emanuele Parsi, a professor of international relations at the Catholic University of Milan warned that attacking the al-Qaida-linked rebels in Mali could provoke "an epidemic in vast areas of the Islamic world", as seen by the recent killing of workers in Algeria and the murder of a French agent in Somalia.

Gian Paolo Calchi Novati, a senior associate research fellow of the Institute for International Political Studies, said responding to the terror threat with a war was a "dangerous and counterproductive" sign of weakness for Europe and the West, whose moral balance in handling conflicts is crucial in establishing and maintaining international leadership.