- Title: MALI-ATTACKS/PEACE Mali FM tells rebels "time is running out" for peace deal
- Date: 9th March 2015
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 9, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MALI FOREIGN MINISTER, ABDOULAYE DIOP, TALKING DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (French) MALI FOREIGN MINISTER, ABDOULAYE DIOP, SAYING: "You know for us, our brothers' (Tuareg-led rebels) hesitations today allows, gives a space to those movements to think that there is no sufficiently strong ground for this deal. So the terror
- Embargoed: 24th March 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAA21D0YRRB75E76LR3WHJE3ICM
- Story Text: Mali's foreign minister said on Monday (March 9) that Tuareg-led rebels were running out of time to seal a peace deal and that after a spate of attacks in the country they had to differentiate themselves now from jihadi groups and traffickers.
Mali's government signed up to a preliminary peace proposal on March 1 meant to end fighting with northern separatists, but they demanded more time before agreeing to any accord.
However, with attacks over the weekend including at a restaurant in the capital Bamako that killed two foreigners, Abdoulaye Diop said the government wanted the deal signed before the end of March to ensure unity in the face of the Islamist threat.
"You know for us, our brothers' (Tuareg-led rebels) hesitations today allows, gives a space to those movements to think that there is no sufficiently strong ground for this deal. So the terrorist groups are trying to make the most out of this moment to seize the opportunity to let violence speak, their aim is clear: derail the peace process. Our brothers need to be aware that it is urgent for them to take a decision. Time is not on our side and each day that goes by - unfortunately - gives the opportunity to other forces which are hostile to peace to fill the void," Diop said in an interview with news agencies.
The United Nations-brokered agreement aims to tackle decades of uprisings in northern Mali, where Western and regional powers worry al Qaeda-linked militants could return two years after a French military intervention drove them out.
From 2012, they occupied large swaths of the northern desert zones after initially sealing alliances with the separatists before turning against them.
"These terrorist groups and drug traffickers are extremely powerful and have huge financial means. This comes largely from drug trafficking. Their interests are linked. Often one is a drug trafficker by day and jihadist by night so it is clear for everyone, these groups don't want a state, they don't want the state's presence, they want to continue to operate freely and through the deal that we are seeking we want to allow the Malian army to be deployed over the whole of its territory in order to ensure security of people and goods," Diop said.
The attack in Bamako, located in the south, was the first for years and raised fears the capital will become targeted more often by militants.
It was followed by a separate attack on a U.N. peacekeeper camp in the northern rebel stronghold of Kidal.
Diop, who met French officials in Paris to discuss the situation in the aftermath of the attacks, said security measures were being reinforced across the country.
While France's focus has shifted to regional counter-terrorism, the 10,000-strong U.N. mission that deployed in the wake of the swift French offensive in Mali inherited the trickier task of rebuilding a broken state.
U.N. peacekeepers face challenges ranging from Malians' expectations that they would bring separatists to heel, a leadership vacuum within the mission itself, and the harsh reality of operating in a zone awash with rebels, Islamists and organised criminal gangs. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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