President Macron Calls on Algeria to Thrash Out Solution to Mali’s Crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron has discussed with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ways to resume the stalled peace talks in Mali.

The news agency “Reuters” quoting a source from the French Presidency said that President Macron had a telephone conversation on the ins and outs of the Malian issue with his Algerian counterpart on Wednesday.

The source, who asked not to be identified, said Thursday that President Macron proposed “concrete measures” regarding the situation in Mali, without giving further details.

The Algiers agreement, binding the parties at issue in Mali, was not fully implemented after the deteriorating security situation in the country.

Mali’s government is struggling to contain militant movements in the north of the country, where clashes between rival factions are frequent and terror groups are launching attacks on civilians, Mali’s army forces, UN peacekeepers and French troops deployed there.

Algeria has played a major role in resolving the crisis that has been besetting Mali for years. The armed rebellion against the Malian forces began on 17 June 2012, in the aftermath of the insurrection spearheaded by the National Liberation Movement of Azouad. 

The security-related crisis has become a major concern for Algeria because of the activity of terrorist organizations and the emergence of a new organization the so-called: “Ansar al-Islam and Muslims” which includes four groupings based in northern Mali, a few kilometers away from the Algerian border.

Algeria has mediated between different factions in Mali in 2015 and is chairing the follow-up committee.

Algeria, despite the worsening security crisis in the region, intervened peacefully to resolve the dispute and announced its rejection of outside interference in the region despite all the international pressure exerted on it because it believes that its military involvement in the region would be a disaster.

On the ground, since the outbreak of the unrest in Mali, Algeria has taken strict measures to protect itself against the consequences of this crisis, has significantly strengthened its military presence on its southern border and increased the number of checkpoints and air traffic surveillance to monitor the movement of drug traffickers, arms dealers and terrorists who can shift the conflict across a range of areas.