The deployment of the Malian army to Kidal (north-east) and talks with the jihadists as announced by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, on the sidelines of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit have raised hope for an eventual breakthrough.
By Mohamed Dagnoko
The Malian leader said this on Monday, during an interview with France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) as he affirmed his willingness to discuss with Iyad Ag Ghaly and Amadou Koufa, the leaders of the jihadists active in northern Mali, .
Dioncounda Traoré (former care-taker president), his representative in that part of the country, had already set the tone in front of civil society and the diplomatic corps accredited in Mali:
“If they have no objection, if they agree, I am ready to meet Amadou Koufa and Iyad Ag Ghaly. I’m even ready to meet their leaders, the ones pulling the strings” he said.
The populations, especially those in the middle of the country, appreciated this development.
In 2019, more than 450 people died in attacks blamed on jihadists.
“If this can help stop the violence, we are very happy to hear that. We hope that this much-anticipated dialogue will take shape as soon as possible,” the spokesperson for the Save the Mopti Region collective Boureïma Soulo commented.
The idea of engaging in the militants with dialogue has been the request of the Malian people during the National Understanding Conference held in February 2017.
This call was renewed during the recently concluded National Inclusive Dialogue.
When Abdoulaye Idrissa Maïga was Prime Minister, a Commission of Good Offices led by Imam Mahmoud Dicko, former President of the High Islamic Council, had begun the preliminary stages of talks with the jihadists.
However, the announcement by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta did not fail to raise concerns.
“I cannot understand why the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Tiébilé Dramé) said that negotiations with the terrorists are not on the government’s agenda and less than two weeks later, the President of the Republic speaks of dialogue with these same people,” Aboubacar Berthé wondered.
According to the journalist, this denotes “a cacophony at the state leadership, which is not a good sign when it comes to negotiating. In any case, 300 soldiers of the reconstituted Malian army have left Gao for Kidal, a town where they have been absent since 2014″.
Human rights activist Aminata Traore said: “If the army’s return to Kidal can favour the return of the rest of the administration in this city, we can only rejoice”.
To bury the hatchet, the Malian government and the rebels of the Coordination of the Movements of Azawad (CMA) signed a peace deal on June 20, 2015, negotiated in the Algerian capital Algiers.
The agreement provides, inter alia, for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of the rebels, the gradual deployment of the army in the north and the implementation of decentralization measures, including a fund for the development of the affected region, to be financed by international donors.
MDS/id/te/lb/as/APA