Mali [Bamako], September 11: A coalition of armed groups in Mali announced on September 10 that they were ready to defend themselves against the military government, accusing it of violating common security commitments.
The Permanent Strategic Framework Coalition for Peace, Security and Development (CSP) called on civilians to move away from military facilities, according to AFP. The CSP was established in May 2021 by the main armed groups in northern Mali that signed the 2015 peace agreement.
The government of the Gao region in northeastern Mali announced on September 10 that it had imposed a 30-day overnight curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., exempting only security vehicles.
The CSP statement came after a September 8 suicide attack on a military base in northern Mali, one day after an attack by suspected jihadists on a military camp and a ship. carrying passengers, causing 64 deaths.
The Coordination of the Azawad Movement (CMA), a coalition of Tuareg independence groups and Arab ethnic groups, one of the CSP participants, announced on September 9 that it had shot down a military aircraft in Gao region after being attacked. If confirmed, this would be the first time in many years such an incident has occurred, according to AFP.
Mali's army referred to an "incident" without providing further details. The head of the Mali Air Force, General Alou BoiDiarra, said on state television that a plane had "some technical problems" that forced the crew to eject and the plane crashed. . Mr. Diarra confirmed that the crew was rescued and safe, but did not specify the mission of the crashed plane.
In recent weeks, the CSP coalition has denounced several violations of the 2014 ceasefire and the 2015 peace accord. They have also condemned what they call the "current ceasefire strategy" of military junta, sees that strategy as designed to disrupt the 2014 ceasefire agreement. CSP warns that it will have to use "all legal defensive measures" across Mali's northern Azawad region .
CSP fears that the withdrawal of UN forces could give the junta an "excuse" to reclaim areas that the central government had ceded control under under 2014 and 2015 agreements .
After UN peacekeepers left their bases last month, there were clashes between the army and jihadists, as well as between the army and the CMA, according to AFP.
Mali has struggled with unrest since 2012, when a rebellion led by ethnic Tuareg broke out in the north of the country. The uprising in the north officially ended with a peace deal signed between the region's rebels and the Mali government in 2015.
However, the fragile agreement became strained after the civilian government was overthrown in 2020 and replaced by a military junta, according to AFP.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper
