The Malian transitional government has agreed with armed groups, signatories of an agreement for peace in the north of the country, for the integration of 26,000 ex-combatants into the Malian army, according to a government press release sent on Friday August 5 at AFP.
Signed in 2015 by the Malian government and groups of ex-rebels from the predominantly Tuareg north of the country, this so-called Algiers peace agreement provides for a process of cantonment of combatants from the signatory movements with a view to their integration into the public service. , including within the armed forces, or their “
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration
” (DDR) into civilian life.
This integration must lead to a restructured national army, more representative of the populations of the North in particular.
This army must then be gradually redeployed in the main cities of the North in the form of mixed battalions made up in equal ratio of the Malian armed forces, combatants from the former rebellion and pro-government armed groups.
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The Malian state and armed groups have decided
to "integrate 26,000 ex-combatants
" into the army, says a government statement sent to AFP on Friday after a meeting held in Bamako this week. in the presence of Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga, representatives of armed groups and Algeria, according to a government press release.
This integration must be done "
in two tranches of 13,000 (ex-combatants) the first of which is distributed according to the quota having been the subject of a consensus between the two parties
", says this press release without further detail, in particular on the start date of the operation.
The second tranche will be spread "
over a period of two years, in particular 2023-2024
",
The implementation of the Algiers agreement, with its provisions for the integration of ex-combatants, as well as the restoration of state authority are considered essential political components for a way out of the crisis in Mali. , in addition to purely military action.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on July 31 called on the military in power in Mali to apply the Algiers agreement and return to legality "
as soon as possible
", going towards elections.
Mali's ruling colonels caved in early July to demands by West African states for a civilian return to power, publishing a new electoral law and timetable that includes a presidential election in February 2024.
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Mali, a poor and landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, was rocked by two military coups in August 2020 and May 2021. The political crisis goes hand in hand with a serious ongoing security crisis since 2012 and the outbreak of separatist and jihadist insurgencies in the North.