OUAGADOUGOU - Ansar Dine, an Islamist group occupying northern Mali, called Tuesday for other fighters to join them in political dialogue, as military chiefs plot strategies to expel the extremists by force. As diplomatic efforts for a military solution to the Islamist occupation of Mali's vast arid north intensify, Ansar Dine has dispatched envoys to Burkina Faso and Algeria in a bid to negotiate an end to the crisis. After meeting with the chief regional mediator, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, the Ansar Dine delegation urged "all the armed movements" to follow its lead with the aim of establishing "an inclusive political dialogue." In a declaration read by envoy Mohamed Aharid,...
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Mali Islamist rebels urge other fighters to join dialogue
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Mali rebels taking dialogue path to avoid war
Mali government officials met with two armed groups for the first time Tuesday in a landmark encounter that saw the rebels pledge to respect the country's territorial integrity and root out "terrorism". The meeting, hosted in neighbouring Burkina Faso, came amid growing calls to deploy an international African force to northern Mali to eject the Islamist groups that seized control there after a March coup. The talks in Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou were hosted by the country's President Blaise Compaore, who has acted as top mediator in the crisis for regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). During the talks, Bamako and the rebel groups -- the Islamist Ansar...
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Mali rebels vow to respect national unity
Ouagadougou - Mali government officials met with two armed groups for the first time on Tuesday in a landmark encounter that saw the rebels pledge to respect the country's territorial integrity and root out “terrorism”. The meeting, hosted in neighbouring Burkina Faso, came amid growing calls to deploy an international African force to northern Mali to eject the Islamist groups that seized control there after a March coup. The talks in Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou were hosted by the country's President Blaise Compaore, who has acted as top mediator in the crisis for regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). During the talks, Bamako and the rebel...
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North Mali Islamist group says it rejects violence
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — An Islamist group carrying out public executions and amputations in northern Mali said Tuesday that it rejects "all forms of extremism and terrorism" and called upon other armed organizations controlling the region, including a branch of al-Qaida, to engage in political talks with the government. The turnabout was announced by a representative of an Ansar Dine delegation that has been holding talks for the last several days with mediators in the capital of neighboring Burkina Faso. The meetings in Burkina Faso appear...
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Mali government, Islamists and separatists agree on peace talks
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Mali's government and the two rebel groups that took control of the northern half of the country in April, have met for the first time and agreed to negotiate an end to the crisis, a minister from mediator Burkina Faso said on Tuesday. A delegation of Malian government officials met representatives of the separatist Tuareg MNLA, whose initial rebellion was hijacked by al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine. The Islamist militant group was also represented in the meeting in the Burkina Faso capital of Ouagadougou. France Burkina Faso Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)...
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Rebels prepare for peace talks in Mali
Kidal, Mali - After the first round of Mali's presidential elections, Tuareg rebels confined to camps in the north are preparing to discuss the future of their vast desert homeland with the country's new leader. Yet in Kidal, a remote town on an ancient Saharan trading route from where the light-skinned, turban-clad warriors have staged four revolts since the 1960s, long-term peace is a distant dream. Voting for the next head-of-state went ahead without incident in the Tuareg stronghold, 1 500 kilometres north-east of Bamako, near the Algerian border. But local people were hardly engaged with the ballot: turnout was estimated by the election commission at 12 percent in the district. Many...
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Mali's north tense as rebels prepare for peace talks
By Thibauld MalterrePublished July 30, 2013AFP Malian electoral agents count the votes at a polling station in Kidal, northern Mali, on July 28, 2013. After the first round of Mali's presidential elections, Tuareg rebels confined to camps in the north are preparing to discuss the future of their vast desert homeland with the country's new leader.AFP Malian electoral agents count the votes at a polling station in Kidal, northern Mali, on July 28, 2013. After the first round of Mali's presidential elections, Tuareg rebels confined to camps in the north are preparing to discuss the future of their vast desert homeland with the country's new leader.AFP Tuareg children take part in a...
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Mali signs deal with Tuareg separatist rebels
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Mali signed a ceasefire deal with Tuareg separatist rebels on Tuesday, paving the way for government troops to return to the northern, rebel-held town of Kidal before a presidential election next month. At the heart of a region plagued by poverty and Islamic militancy, Mali won a 3.25 billion euros ($4.35 billion) Western aid package last month aimed at shoring up democracy and helping it recover from a coup and an al Qaeda insurgency. Tuesday's agreement - reached after nearly two weeks of talks mediated by...
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Mali’s north remains tense as rebels prepare for peace talks
KIDAL — After the first round of Mali’s presidential elections, Tuareg rebels confined to camps in the north are preparing to discuss the future of their vast desert homeland with the country’s new leader. Yet in Kidal, a remote town on an ancient Saharan trading route from where the light-skinned, turban-clad warriors have staged four revolts since the 1960s, long-term peace is a distant dream. Voting for the next head-of-state went ahead without incident in the Tuareg stronghold, 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) northeast of Bamako, near the Algerian border. But local people were hardly engaged with the ballot: turnout was estimated by the election commission at 12 percent in the district....
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Can Mali Reunite?
Now that Mali has held its first election following the state’s near disintegration—a 16-month period marked by a fierce rebel offensive, a military coup, and a French military intervention—the prospects for peaceful reunification are on the minds of many. A high voter turnout in the capital city of Bamako underscored the average Malian’s eagerness for a return to democracy, and the absence of jihadist-sponsored attacks on voters justifies cautious optimism about improved security. The Tuareg question, however, remains unresolved. If Bamako’s efforts to make peace with this long-rebellious minority group prove futile, expectations about national reconciliation and long-term stability in Mali...
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Mali Islamist rebels urge dialog, halt to hostilities
OUAGADOUGOU — Ansar Dine, an Islamist group occupying northern Mali, called Tuesday for other fighters to join them in political dialog, as military chiefs plot strategies to expel the extremists by force. As diplomatic efforts for a military solution to the Islamist occupation of Mali’s vast arid north intensify, Ansar Dine has dispatched envoys to Burkina Faso and Algeria in a bid to negotiate an end to the crisis. After meeting with the chief regional mediator, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, the Ansar Dine delegation urged “all the armed movements” to follow its lead with the aim of establishing “an inclusive political dialog.” In a declaration read by envoy Mohamed Aharid, they...
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Mali signs deal with Tuareg separatist rebels
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Mali signed a ceasefire deal with Tuareg separatist rebels on Tuesday, paving the way for government troops to return to the northern, rebel-held town of Kidal before a presidential election next month. At the heart of a region plagued by poverty and Islamic militancy, Mali won a 3.25 billion euros ($4.35 billion) Western aid package last month aimed at shoring up democracy and helping it recover from a coup and an al Qaeda insurgency. Tuesday's agreement - reached after nearly two weeks of...
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Statement by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the signing of a preliminary peace agreement in Mali (Council of the European Union)
(Source: Council of the European Union) EUROPEAN UNION Brussels, 18 June 2013 (OR. fr) A 331/13 Statement by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the signing of a preliminary peace agreement in Mali The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission issued the following statement today: "I welcome the signing in...
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Mali Islamist rebels urge dialog, halt to hostilities
OUAGADOUGOU — Ansar Dine, an Islamist group occupying northern Mali, called Tuesday for other fighters to join them in political dialog, as military chiefs plot strategies to expel the extremists by force. As diplomatic efforts for a military solution to the Islamist occupation of Mali’s vast arid north intensify, Ansar Dine has dispatched envoys to Burkina Faso and Algeria in a bid to negotiate an end to the crisis. After meeting with the chief regional mediator, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, the Ansar Dine delegation urged “all the armed movements” to follow its lead with the aim of establishing “an inclusive political dialog.” In a declaration read by envoy Mohamed Aharid, they...
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FCO Minister welcomes outcome of Presidential election in Mali (British Prime Minister's Office)
(Source: British Prime Minister's Office) Commenting on the Presidential elections in Mali, Foreign Office Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds said: I congratulate Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on his victory in the Presidential elections in Mali. I hope that he can be a true representative and...
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Presidential election "a major step" to recovery for Mali: UN Security Council
Tweet Beijing, Aug. 17 (Xinhua-ANI): UN Security Council on Friday praised Mali for peaceful presidential election, calling it "a major step toward the restoration of democratic governance and constitutional order" in the country. Argentine ambassador Maria Cristina Perceval, who holds this month's presidency of the Security Council, read a statement here to the press and praised the Malian people for their peaceful participation in the electoral process. "The...
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Malian gov't, Tuareg rebels sign truce agreement
OUAGADOUGOU, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Malian government and Tuareg rebels on Tuesday afternoon signed a truce agreement in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The government and the separatist MNLA and HCA rebels inked the deal at 4:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) in the presence of...
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Mali: Switzerland welcomes the preliminary peace agreement (Swiss Federal Council)
(Source: Swiss Federal Council) 19.06.2013 Switzerland welcomes the "preliminary agreement for presidential elections and inclusive peace negotiations in Mali" that was adopted on Tuesday, 18 June 2013, by the government of Mali, on one side, and the National Liberation Movement of Azawad (MNLA) and the High Council for Unity of Azawad (HCUA), on the other. This text establishes a ceasefire and paves the way for presidential elections in the whole of Mali. It is the culmination of many months of negotiations between the conflicting...
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