Mali’s government on Sunday signed a preliminary peace deal with some northern rebel groups, but the main Tuareg armed coalition asked for more time for consultations before signing the agreement.
The United Nations-brokered deal has taken eight months to hammer out and seeks to tackle decades of uprisings and instability in northern Mali, where Western and regional powers worry Islamist militants could return two years after French military intervention drove them out.
“This accord is not intended to immediately resolve all the problems of a deep, multifaceted, cyclical crisis. It is nevertheless a decisive step towards peace and reconciliation,” a declaration from the international mediation team said.
Tuareg and Arab rebel groups were at the signing ceremony in Algiers, where they said they would continue with peace dialogue.
The deal provides for the transfer of a raft of powers from the capital Bamako to the north, an area the size of Texas that the rebels refer to as “Azawad”.
Rebels had earlier said the agreement, which is due to be formally signed in Mali later this month, did not fully address their political demands for the Azawad region.
The Tuareg rebel alliance, which includes the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, said it had asked for a “reasonable delay” for consultations before signing.
FRENCH VERSION
“Cet accord ne vise pas à résoudre immédiatement tous lesproblèmes d’une crise profonde, aux multiples facettes, cyclique.“C’est néanmoins un pas décisif vers la paix et la réconciliation,dit une déclaration de l’équipe de médiation internationale.
Touareg et les groupes rebelles arabes étaient à la cérémonie designature à Alger, où ils ont dit qu’ils continueraient avec ledialogue de paix.
L’accord prévoit le transfert d’un tas de pouvoirs de la capitaleBamako au nord, une zone de la taille du Texas que les rebellesappellent « Azawad ».
Rebelles avaient déclaré plus tôt l’accord, qui doit êtreofficiellement signé au Mali ce mois-ci, ne traitait pas pleinementleurs revendications politiques pour la région de l’Azawad.
L’alliance rebelle Touareg, qui comprend le Mouvement Nationalpour la libération de l’Azawad, dit qu’il avait demandé un « délairaisonnable » pour des consultations avant de signer.
