Mali's President Calls On Tuareg Rebels To Make Truce
"I have been trained to make war, but I prefer peace," the former army general said during a visit in northern Mali. "So if my brothers in the mountains can hear me, they should come down and make peace."
"We don't want war. Those who want war can go elsewhere," he said in remarks broadcast by state media.
Tuareg rebels regrouped recently in the mountainous region close to the Algerian border and are calling on the government to honor an agreement signed between the two sides in 2006.
In the deal, rebels dropped their demand for autonomy for the Kidal region after the government committed to speed up the development of three northern regions in Mali.
The president also said he planned to visit the city of Kidal shortly, the provincial capital of the Kidal region where the majority of the rebels operate.
The Tuaregs are a nomadic desert people who have roamed the southern Sahara for centuries. In recent years they have staged uprisings in both Mali and Niger, claiming autonomy for their traditional homeland.
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Publié le 14 Décembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones
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