Former rebels and pro-government fighters have signed a new ceasefire to end fighting in northern Mali, the AFP news agency is reporting.
This comes after months of intense fighting in the region in violation of a 2015 peace deal.
The ceasefire lays out an “immediate halt to hostilities” according to a document signed on Wednesday.
Pro-government armed groups known as the Platform have lost significant ground to the ex-rebels of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) in the Kidal region, a traditional stronghold of the CMA.
The deal will see the introduction of joint patrols between regular troops and members of two armed groups.
Several such ceasefires have been signed before, and Mali observers were sceptical that the new agreement would hold.
“It’s not the first time we have seen a ceasefire signed.Those involved don’t act in good faith. Nothing suggests they will respect their commitments this time,” a foreign diplomat is reported to have told AFP.
Mali’s vast, desolate north fell under the control of the Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.
The Islamists were largely ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013, although they have since launched sporadic attacks on security forces from desert hideouts.
BBC
