In an effort to end a decade of conflict, Mali’s government said on Tuesday that it had urged the country’s leading Islamic authority to initiate peace talks with the leaders of Al-Qaeda’s local affiliate.
As security deteriorates and extremist Islamic organisations spread beyond their traditional territories, Malian authorities have previously accepted the notion of dialogue and secretly funded local peace initiatives with the terrorists.
However, the religious affairs ministry’s latest announcement is by far the most substantial step toward dialogue with extremist leaders.
A strategy like this is strongly opposed by Mali’s main military ally, France, whose president, Emmanuel Macron, stated in June that the French troops would not participate in joint operations with countries that engage and bargain with the Islamist extremist groups.
According to Khalil Camara, a government spokesperson, the minister of religious affairs has urged the High Islamic Council (HCI) to begin negotiations with the leaders of the al Qaeda-linked Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM).
The HCI mediated discussions between JNIM militants and traditional hunters in central Mali’s Niono Circle area, which were covertly backed by national officials and resulted in a peace accord, in March.
The agreement fell apart in July and violence in the area has rapidly increased since then. The government’s moves come at a time when relations between Mali and France, which intervened against the terrorists for the first time in 2013, are at an all-time low.
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