BAMAKO: Mali’s military leadership has called on armed groups to return to dialogue to save an ailing peace deal, Western media reported on Monday.
The development comes amid fear of increased attacks on Niger forces after the withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces from the country.
The government and the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), an alliance of Tuareg-dominated independence and autonomist groups, signed a deal in 2015, also called an Algiers agreement.
CMA accuses govt of targeting its positions in Kindal region
However, the tensions have increased in recent months in Sahel state, with CMA accusing the government of bombing their positions in Kidal region.
Colonel Major Ismael Wagu, the minister in charge of the peace agreement, has said he wants to invite the other side to the negotiating table.
He said the government is committed to fulfilling the agreement and the last year’s ceasefire.
Meanwhile, in a statement on social media, the Malian army claimed to have targeted a group of armed terrorist groups and neutralized several combatants in the Kidal region.
According to the UN experts, the terror groups could reemerge and return to the 2012 scenario if the Algiers deal collapsed.
The jihadist and separatist insurgencies have claimed thousands of lives in Mali.
The UN peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA, will be exiting the country on December 31 after a decade of struggling to stabilize the country’s security environment.
