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Mali armed groups clash near Algerian border: sources
Fighters from the Tuareg separatist rebel group MNLA drive in the desert near Tabankort, February 15, 2015. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Souleymane Ag Anara
17/09/2015
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Fighting erupted between rival armed groups near Mali's desert border with Algeria on Thursday, sources from both sides said, in a fresh violation of a U.N.-backed peace deal.
Militias there signed a long-awaited peace accord in June after months of negotiations but mediators are struggling to make them abide by its terms.
The two sides, led by Tuareg warlords from opposing clans, clashed in August near the town of Anefis, killing at least 20 people.
"Fighting resumed this morning in Inafarak where pro-government militias arrived recently to prepare an offensive against the CMA," said Attaye Ag Mohamed, a representative of the separatist Coordination of Azawad Movements.
Around 70 pick-ups belonging to the rival groups, known collectively as Platform, were spotted in the area, Ag Mohamed said.
Medhi Ag Almoubareck, spokesman for Platform's largest group GATIA, said its fighters were assaulted by the CMA early on Thursday and had fought back.
The renewed fighting has dashed mediators' hopes that the peace deal would bring a measure of stability and allow the government and supporting regional and Western powers to focus on combating Islamist militants also active in the area.
Security forces say that the battle for positions among armed groups is motivated partly by competition for control of smuggling routes through the desert to Algeria and Niger, used cocaine and arms dealers as well as traditional traders.
Algerian media reported a large arms seizure in Inafarak including heavy machine guns, ammunition and grenades on Wednesday.
Mali's Tuaregs have risen up four times since Mali's independence from France in 1960 and are seeking more autonomy for the northern region they call Azawad.
Islamist militants briefly seized the north alongside Tuaregs in 2012, but were forced to retreat by an offensive led by French troops.
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