Continental Focus, International Reach

Rebels Pull Out of Mali Peace Deal

Sunday, August 30, 2015

The Tuareg rebels from northern Mali said that they were pulling out of an international committee set up to monitor the peace accord between them and pro-government forces after deadly fighting between the rival groups sent tensions soaring.

It was just this past June that the Malian government and the Tuareg-led rebels signed deals agreeing to a local ceasefire as well as more political guarantees. The agreement was seen as a step forward towards a UN-mediated end to the ongoing uprisings in northern Mali. Algeria was chosen to chair the monitoring committee set up to oversee the implementation of the agreed upon terms.

These latest skirmishes leave reconciliation tenuous as Sidi Brahim Ould Sidati of the rebel Co-ordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) said the group was suspending its participation in the monitoring group until loyalist forces leave the town of Anefis, about 120 km south of the CMA stronghold of Kidal. Pro-government forces took over the town August 24 after three days of fighting which left at least 10 people dead, according to a source with MINUSMA, the UN mission in the country. According to Sidata, the CMA will remain part of the dialogue as long as there aren’t any more on the ground skirmishes.

Both sides accused each other of starting the fighting. After the outbreak of violence UN peacekeepers set up a “security zone” around the northern town of Kidal, 1,500 km north-east of the capital Bamako, in a bid to curb tensions.


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