Malian army troops clash with rebels in Tenenkou
Mali’s soldiers have clashed with members of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) in the central town of Tenenkou.
Military sources and a local official told AFP that the fighting occurred at about 5:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) Tuesday between the army troops and the rebels of the CMA, the French acronym for the Coordination of Azawad Movements.
“Currently we are under fire from CMA rebel groups and the army,” said a local councilor.
The CMA, comprising ethnic Arabs and Tuaregs, claims to be in control of the central market town, but both the councilor and the army have denied it.
A military source said, “The rebels have no control whatsoever over Tenenkou. It’s just bluster.”
The recent fighting between the rebel groups and government forces erupted in the northern region in late April.
Since then, mediators of the country’s peace negotiations have called on the sides for an immediate halt to the conflict.
The UN Security Council has threatened to impose sanctions on those instigating violence in Mali.
The Council warned on May 1 that the continued fighting would sabotage the ongoing peace process.
The recent fighting comes despite the CMA’s assurance that it is committed to the peace deal due to be ratified at a ceremony in the capital, Bamako, on May 15.
The Algerian-brokered peace deal was inked, under UN supervision, between the Malian government and representatives of the rebels last year.
Tuareg rebels took control of northern Mali, which they call Azawad, in January 2012. The country has witnessed days of turmoil ever since.
On March 22 the same year, President Amadou Toumani Toure was toppled in a military coup. The coup leaders said the ouster of Toure was in response to the government’s failure to contain the Tuareg rebellion in the north, where the rebels are fighting to gain autonomy.
The UN has worked to bring back stability to the West African country over the past months.
The three main rebel groups - the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUC) and the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) - signed a ceasefire deal with the government on May 23, 2014, which was followed by a cessation of hostilities in February this year.
However, the recent clashes have clouded the prospects for permanent peace.
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