Touareg rebels flee to Algeria

Malian army said Touarge rebels in the north fled to Algeria’s southern borders after the government forces carried out an attack on what it calls gunmen.

• “We chased and destroyed all strongholds of rebels in northern Mali. They fled to the Algerian borders in the north. They were numerous,” AFP reported citing Alioun Diakité, a Malian officer.
• He added that a number of rebels have been detained and their cars have been seized.
• Algerian authorities said some rebels penetrated into their southern borders.
• Hundreds of former rebels from the Alliance for Democracy and Change (ADC) were due to return to the northern town of Kidal in a special ceremony in January.
• But the event was postponed indefinitely after both sides failed to agree over disarmament.
• Earlier this week the government proposed to allow some Tuaregs into the village with their weapons while the majority would have to hand over their weapons to the conflict’s Algerian mediators.