Optimism over Mali-Tuareg talks

2008-07-20 22:29

Bamako - Officials attending talks between Mali's government and Tuareg rebels said on Sunday Algeria's mediator might soon be able to announce progress, despite the recent abduction of three Malian gendarmes.

Two participants in the talks in the Algerian capital Algiers told AFP that Algeria's ambassador to Mali, Abdelkrim Gehraieb, might be able to present the first results in a few days.

Both sources, one from the Malian side, one from the Tuareg, said the talks had taken place in a good atmosphere.

A member of Gehraieb's entourage confirmed the report. "Those who gave you the information have reason to be optimistic," he told AFP. "Things are advancing."

The news came despite Saturday's abduction of three gendarmes from a police base at Tessalit in northern Mali by Tuareg rebels from a group calling itself the United Forces of Azawad, a traditional name for the region.

A spokesperson for the group told AFP on Sunday they were seeking the release of several Tuaregs held by the army in return for the gendarmes' release.

The current talks in Algiers were called after a recent flare-up in violence that threatens a July 2006 peace accord between the Malian government and Tuareg rebels in the north of the country that was also brokered by Algeria.

The Tuareg are a nomadic people who have roamed the southern Sahara for centuries. They have staged uprisings in recent years in both Mali and neighbouring Niger, claiming autonomy for their traditional homeland.

Under the terms of the 2006 peace agreements, the Tuaregs were to give up their claim for regional autonomy, while the Malian government was to speed up development in the northern regions.

- AFP