Mali rebels reject proposed peace deal after talks with supporters

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Monday 16 Mar 2015 - 15:12 Makkah mean time-25-5-1436 Mali's desert north (Reuters/Images) Bamako (IINA) – Rebels in northern Mali have rejected a preliminary peace deal after days of talks with grassroots supporters, saying the document did not tackle the root causes of the conflict, but that they remained committed to negotiations, Reuters reported. The proposal, drawn up after months of talks in Algeria and signed by the government in Bamako earlier this month, is aimed at tackling decades of rebellion in Mali's desert north. In a statement late on Sunday, the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) rebel group said the proposal, put forward after eight months of talks, failed to meet their expectations. Despite Algerian mediation and the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission, northern Mali remains deeply unstable as the various factions sought to make gains between rounds of talks. AB/IINA