AFRICA. Algeria/Mali: The Algerian Head of State, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has called on the Mali military government to as soon as possible return to the civilian form of government to give voice to the people through the electioneering process.
Tebboune, who disclosed in a television interview with the local press, added that there is a need for the current leaders of Mali to return to the legal way of ruling to enable the masses to have control over their voice.
“As long as the Algiers agreement is not applied, and Mali remains within the military form of government, the problems in Mali will persist,” the Algerian president said.
“We share about 1,400 KM of borders with the southern part of Mali, and we partake in the peace deal signed in 2015 with pro-independence rebellion to bring an end to the lingering crisis in Mali, but since then, putting it into practice has become an obstacle,” Tebboune said.
Tebboune further stated that the insecurity situation in Mali is known to everyone, but it is also fabricated as some insiders do not want it to end. Because of the benefit, they are gaining from it.
Commonly referred to as the “Big Neighbour”, Algeria shares a 1,400 km border with Mali and it was in Algiers that a peace agreement was signed in 2015 between the Malian government and former rebels. As he leaves, the Algerian president is reassessing the agreement: “Until the peace agreement is implemented, Mali’s problems will persist,” he said.
Insecurity in Mali
Mali has continued to be the scene of attacks by groups affiliated with al-Qaeda (some of whose leaders are Algerians) and the Islamic State, and of violence by other armed actors, self-defence militias or criminal gangs.
The country has been shaken by two military coups in August 2020 and May 2021. The political crisis is coupled with a serious security crisis that has been ongoing since 2012 and the outbreak of independence and jihadist insurgencies in the north.
According to Small Wars Journal, “The current factors driving rebellious conflict in Mali fit into Collier and Hoefller’s model of conflict. Malian issues are primarily economic, but conflict is also influenced by outstanding grievances, the military viability of rebellion, and historical violence. While the popular perception may indicate the conflicts derive their roots from an ethnic tension between Tuareg populations of Northern Mali and black ethnicities of Southern Mali. All evidence points towards the economic and political security grievances as the impetus for conflict in Mali. Complicating matters further are the economic incentives for starting the conflict. The economic viability of conflict has been derived from sponsorship by external actors to continue and/or resolve conflict. Funding associated with negotiations and terrorism has further encouraged conflict competition between government and non-government patronage networks within Mali”.
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