On Thursday, Mali and its neighbor Algeria expressed their desire to resuscitate a 2015 peace agreement that is currently in limbo and prompting concerns of resumption of hostilities.
The agreement sought to reduce tensions in a region that had descended into bloodshed in 2012 as a result of an ethnic Tuareg uprising against the national government.
Jihadists joined the uprising and eventually expanded their assault into Burkina Faso, central Mali, and Niger, killing thousands of people there and driving millions from their homes.
The 2015 deal united the Tuareg rebels and the government in a deal that provided greater local autonomy and the opportunity to incorporate fighters into a state-run “reconstituted” army that would operate in the area.
However, the deal has only been partially implemented, and the rebels have angrily announced they are halting their participation in it.
Mali and Algeria stated their desire to restart the agreement in a joint statement on Thursday.
Following discussions with junta head Colonel Assimi Goita, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf declared, “We have carried out a very precise, very rigorous examination of what is needed to ensure the effective and productive relaunch, via a political process protected from short-term turbulence.”
After former Malian rebels traveled to Algeria in February for talks about how to break the impasse, his visit followed.
A significant rebel group that participated in the 2015 agreement reacted negatively to the possibility of moving the accord forward.
Ag Mohamed Almou, a spokesman for the Coordination of Azawad Movements, told AFP on Wednesday, “They have to stop slipping further into denial [and] acknowledge the situation is spiraling out of control.”
The al-Qaida-linked Support Group for Islam and Muslims, government forces, and indigenous Tuareg-dominated armed organizations are some of the opponents the Islamic State in the Great Sahara group is outpacing in northern Mali.
Algeria, Mali. Reaffirm the problematic Malian Peace Pact from 2015
On Thursday, Mali and its neighbor Algeria expressed their desire to resuscitate a 2015 peace agreement that is currently in limbo and prompting concerns of resumption of hostilities.
The agreement sought to reduce tensions in a region that had descended into bloodshed in 2012 as a result of an ethnic Tuareg uprising against the national government.
Jihadists joined the uprising and eventually expanded their assault into Burkina Faso, central Mali, and Niger, killing thousands of people there and driving millions from their homes.
The 2015 deal united the Tuareg rebels and the government in a deal that provided greater local autonomy and the opportunity to incorporate fighters into a state-run “reconstituted” army that would operate in the area.
However, the deal has only been partially implemented, and the rebels have angrily announced they are halting their participation in it.
Mali and Algeria stated their desire to restart the agreement in a joint statement on Thursday.
Following discussions with junta head Colonel Assimi Goita, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf declared, “We have carried out a very precise, very rigorous examination of what is needed to ensure the effective and productive relaunch, via a political process protected from short-term turbulence.”
After former Malian rebels traveled to Algeria in February for talks about how to break the impasse, his visit followed.
A significant rebel group that participated in the 2015 agreement reacted negatively to the possibility of moving the accord forward.
Ag Mohamed Almou, a spokesman for the Coordination of Azawad Movements, told AFP on Wednesday, “They have to stop slipping further into denial [and] acknowledge the situation is spiraling out of control.”
The al-Qaida-linked Support Group for Islam and Muslims, government forces, and indigenous Tuareg-dominated armed organizations are some of the opponents the Islamic State in the Great Sahara group is outpacing in northern Mali.
