Mali junta terminates Algiers Accord with Tuareg rebels, accuses Algeria of ‘hostile acts’
The Mali government announced it has ended the Algiers Accord, brokered by the United Nations, with immediate effect, saying it is no longer workable.
Mali’s ruling junta ended a 2015 peace deal with Tuareg separatist rebels on Thursday while accusing neighbouring Algeria of hostile acts.
Tensions between the central authorities and the northern separatists have resurfaced since the military consolidated power in two coups in 2020 and 2021, teamed up with Russian military contractor Wagner Group, and kicked out French forces and UN peacekeepers.
The military authorities said in a statement that it was no longer possible to continue with the agreement due to other signatories not sticking to their commitments and “hostile acts” by Algeria.
An alliance of rebel groups formed by Mali’s semi-nomadic Tuareg people, The CMA, said it was not surprised by the decision.
Mali, on the Sahara Desert’s southern fringe, has been plagued by violence since 2012, when Islamist militants hijacked an uprising by the Tuareg groups who complained of government neglect and sought autonomy for the desert region they call Azawad.
