Mali summons Algerian Ambassador over contacts with Tuareg

Mali on Wednesday (20 December) summoned the Algerian Ambassador in Baku for a diplomatic demarche following what it called “interference” and “unfriendly acts” related to meetings between Algerian officials and Tuareg separatists.

Algeria is the main mediator in efforts to return peace to northern Mali following an agreement signed in 2015 between the Malian government and predominantly Tuareg armed groups.

The Algerian ambassador was summoned “to raise a strong protest” from Mali “following recent unfriendly acts by the Algerian authorities, under the guise of the peace process in Mali,” the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Bamako criticized “recurrent meetings, at the highest levels in Algeria, and without the slightest information or involvement of the Malian authorities... with people known for their hostility to the Malian government.”

The Malian government sees “these acts as constituting interference in Mali’s internal affairs” which “are likely to damage good relations” with Algiers, the statement said.

Mali has been ruled by a military junta since August 2020.

Fighting between the separatists and Mali government troops broke out again in August after eight years of calm as both sides scrambled to fill the vacuum left by the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers. Some leaders of Tuareg separatist groups currently live in Algeria, according to the heads of their movements.

source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: The Malian capital, Bamako, general view with the presidential palace in the background

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
 UN General Assembly vote highlights Israel's isolation

UN General Assembly vote highlights Israel's isolation

Applause rang out in the UN General Assembly Hall on Friday as countries endorsed a declaration on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and implementation of the two-State solution with Israel.  The New York Declaration is the outcome of an international conference held in July at UN Headquarters, organized by France and Saudi Arabia, which resumes later this month. The General Assembly comprises all 193 UN Member States and 142 countries voted in favour of a resolution backing the document. Israel voted against it, alongside nine other countries – Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States – while 12 nations abstained. The vote highlights the current Israeli international isolation as a result of its current policies. Prior to the vote, French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont recalled that the New York Declaration “lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-State solution”. This involves an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian State that is both viable and sovereign. The roadmap further calls for the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, normalization between Israel and the Arab countries, as well as collective security guarantees.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
 UN General Assembly vote highlights Israel's isolation

UN General Assembly vote highlights Israel's isolation

Applause rang out in the UN General Assembly Hall on Friday as countries endorsed a declaration on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and implementation of the two-State solution with Israel.  The New York Declaration is the outcome of an international conference held in July at UN Headquarters, organized by France and Saudi Arabia, which resumes later this month. The General Assembly comprises all 193 UN Member States and 142 countries voted in favour of a resolution backing the document. Israel voted against it, alongside nine other countries – Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States – while 12 nations abstained. The vote highlights the current Israeli international isolation as a result of its current policies. Prior to the vote, French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont recalled that the New York Declaration “lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-State solution”. This involves an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian State that is both viable and sovereign. The roadmap further calls for the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, normalization between Israel and the Arab countries, as well as collective security guarantees.