Mali's government has said it will integrate 26,000 ex-fighters from a northern rebellion group into its army as part of a deal with the former independence movement. The agreement was struck in a meeting on Friday between the two parties and suggest a new energy in the stalled reconciliation deal, signed several years ago. A peace deal between the government and non-extremist armed independence groups in the north was signed in February 2015 but has stalled in the past seven years. Following the ceasefire in 2015 between the Malian government and the northern rebels, both sides have pledged to "tackle the causes of lasting tensions in the region." But some rebel groups have reformed in the desert - staging attacks on the country's army and U.N. peacekeepers.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 06, 2022 14:36 UTC