Bamako, Mali - A coalition of armed groups, who are signatories to a major peace agreement in northern Mali, said
Bamako, Mali – A coalition of armed groups, who are signatories to a major peace agreement in northern Mali, said Sunday they were preparing to defend themselves against the ruling junta, accusing it of violating mutual security commitments.
The armed groups’ statement followed a suicide attack Friday on a military base in northern Mali, which itself came a day after deadly strikes on an army camp and a passenger boat by suspected jihadists killed 64 people. The crew had been recovered safely, he added. He did not specify what mission the plane was carrying out.
After the UN peacekeepers quit their base last month there were clashes between troops and jihadists, but also between the army and the CMA. The jihadists, who first fought the army alongside Tuareg and Arab rebels before turning against them, are not affected by the accord and have spread their operations to central Mali and Burkina Faso.