Mali's government on Tuesday held its first-ever direct talks with two rebel groups controlling most of the country's northern regions since April, namely the Islamist Ansar Dine and the Tuareg Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA).
The talks were hosted by Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore in his country's capital Ouagadougou. Incidentally, Compaore has been acting as the top mediator in the Mali crisis for regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
According to a statement issued after the talks, the two rebel groups and Mali's government agreed to "observe a cessation of hostilities" and "recognized the need to create a framework of inclusive dialogue within Mali."
They also agreed to anchor their future talks on "respect of national unity and the territorial integrity" of the country, rejection of any form of "extremism and terrorism," and "respect of human rights, human dignity" as well as "basic and religious freedoms."
Mali in March witnessed a coup triggered by discontent among a large section of the military over the government's failure to address demands for better supplies and arms to tackle the Tuareg uprising in the North.
The coup leaders later agreed to return power to a civilian interim government led by President Dioncounda Traore, following a deal with ECOWAS in exchange for lifting sanctions against the military junta.
Nevertheless, Mali's Tuareg rebels captured a large portion of northern Mali in late March with the support of Ansar Dine and two other extremist Islamist groups, namely Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).
The Islamists later fell out with the Tuareg rebels and consolidated their control over northern Mali. They have since established themselves in northern Mali and are currently enforcing Islamic law across the region. The conflict forced more than 320,000 people to flee northern Mali.
Despite bringing Islamist groups like Ansar Dine and the MNLA to the negotiating table, ECOWAS is still planning to send troops to northern Mali to recapture the region from the rebel groups. The regional grouping has already finalized plans for sending 3,000 troops to Mali to re-capture rebel held territories.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has already declared support for the ECOWAS plan to send troops to Mali. Ban said last week that he backed the deployment of the regional troops in Mali for a one-year period. But he said funding for the mission should come from "voluntary or bilateral contributions."
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