Peace process in the north of Mali on the right track

The peace process in the north of Mali seems to be on the right, as latest evidence reveals that the Organization of Gao in the region is made-up of mixed patrols composed of military personnel, armed groups pro government group, and ex-rebels of the Coordination of Movements of the Azawad (CMA).

More than a hundred ex-militiamen of the CMA on thursday left Kidal, north of Mali to rally Gao where they joined the contingent of the regular army and the pro-Government armed groups.

There are approximately 600 persons in the first joint patrol provided by the Algiers Agreement to reassure the civilian populations and to restore confidence between the different armed groups before the disarmament process.

A Tuareg rebellion in 2012 that sought to create a new state called Azawad was hijacked by al Qaeda-linked militants who seized major towns in Mali’s north and established sharia law.

French troops drove them out a year later but they continue to launch deadly attacks from desert hideouts and have spread into areas once considered safe, despite efforts by a 13,000-strong U.N. force to keep them at bay.