MALI’S junta has officially terminated the 2015 peace deal with Tuareg separatist rebels, escalating tensions and introducing further instability to the conflict-ridden West African nation. The move comes amid a series of strategic shifts, including the military’s consolidation of power through coups in 2020 and 2021, collaboration with Russian military contractor Wagner Group, and the expulsion of French forces and UN peacekeepers.
In a statement broadcast on state television, the military authorities asserted that continuing with the agreement was no longer feasible due to non-compliance by other signatories and alleged ‘hostile acts’ by chief mediator Algeria. Consequently, the Algiers Accord, initially brokered by the United Nations, was deemed unworkable.
The junta, in the official statement, declared, ‘The government announces its end with immediate effect’ concerning the peace agreement.
The Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA), an alliance of rebel groups representing Mali’s semi-nomadic Tuareg people, expressed little surprise at the junta’s decision. CMA spokesperson Elmaouloud Ramadane remarked, ‘We have been expecting it since they brought in Wagner, chased out MINUSMA (the UN peacekeeping group), and started hostilities by attacking our positions on the ground. We knew that the aim was to terminate the agreement.’
Mali, situated on the Sahara Desert’s southern fringe, has grappled with violence since 2012 when Islamist militants hijacked a Tuareg uprising seeking autonomy for the desert region known as Azawad, citing government neglect. Despite the Tuaregs signing the peace accord with the Bamako government in 2015, militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have sparked insurgencies, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties and spreading violence to Burkina Faso and Niger.
Recent months have seen increasing strain on the Tuareg peace agreement, with heightened fighting between the two sides as they vie for position during the gradual withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers since last August. In early January, the UN Security Council emphasised the importance of adhering to the 2015 peace deal and called for all parties to resume dialogue.
Any escalation with the separatists will add pressure to the Malian army, already grappling with the fight against Islamist groups amid worsening violence since the military takeover. The situation remains fluid, with regional and international stakeholders closely monitoring developments in Mali.