Former Malian rebels have signed a pact designed to “facilitate ties” with the Sahel state’s ruling junta, a spokesman for the armed groups said on Thursday. The ex-rebels, who range from former Tuareg separatists to Arab nationalists, had already signed a peace agreement with the previous civilian government in 2015, in Algiers. Analysts view the Algiers accord as one of the few escape routes from Mali’s decade-old conflict.
The country has struggled to control a jihadist insurgency that first emerged in 2012, before spreading to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. However, Mali’s government never fully implemented the Algiers accord. Then in August 2020, the military overthrew elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita after months of brewing discontent with his rule.
Relations between the junta and the ex-rebels, who remain in control of swathes of northern Mali, have often been strained since then. The former rebels and the junta signed an accord in Italy’s capital Rome on Wednesday designed to “facilitate ties,” according to Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, a spokesman for the militias.
The text of the agreement has not been released. However, a signatory who requested anonymity said that it included language on the Malian authorities committing to implementing the Algiers accord. Italian non-governmental organisation Ara Pacis, which could not be reached for comment, brokered the talks. The Italian government declined to comment. Jihadist groups — former allies of Mali’s Tuareg separatists and Arab rebels — are not included in the Algiers agreement.
