Mali calls for swift implementation of peace deal

Mali has requested a swift implementation of the peace deal with tuareg rebels.This request was made during talks on Monday held in Algiers.

The UN backed deal is considered as vital in preventing islamist attacks.

“Today we have simplified things and we only have two groups. We have the group of peace; you, us, and our brothers of the armed front and all our friends. And we have what I call the enemies of peace represented by this terrorist group which is in operation. I think that the more we move on the agreement, the more they get afraid by this coming peace, which means the end of their criminal activities. I also think that we have to get better organised to dominate this threat better. But the solution is to move faster towards peace,” Abdoulaye Diop, Malian minister of foreign affairs said.

The tuareg rebel leader Bilal Ag Cherif requested progress on security arrangements. He also called for the involvement of the rebels in local patrols. The tuareg rebels denied any involvement in the attack which occurred in northern Mali on Friday.

“A patrol of the Malian army was exposed to an incident carried out by unknown people, and we condemn this attack by unknown people. I do not know to whom they belong, but we condemn it and confirm that CMA is committed to its obligations in front of the international community in front of the Malian government in the framework of the application of this agreement and to solve the problems by dialogue and resort to the mechanics seeking to agree. But the incident carried out by unidentified people does not justify the random killing of a number of civilians in the villages without a reason.“Bilal Ag Cherif said.

The rebels have called on the Malian government to punish whoever carried out the attack. The rebel leader said they are educating people in Bamako, the Azawad region in the north and other areas on the peace deal.

Algerian minister of foreign affairs, Ramtane Lamara, lauded the efforts made by the Malian parties to observe a durable cessation of hostilities.

The tuaregs have struggled to seize power four times since Mali gained independence from France in 1960. An attempt to seize the desert north in 2012 was stopped by a french military intervention which scattered the terrorists.

The rebels usually attack Mali’s army. About 82 soldiers lost their lives in 2015 after such attacks.

In November last year, twenty people lost their lives during an attack on the Radisson Blu hotel.