Le processus de paix au Mali est sérieusement menacé. La crise entre les mouvements de l’Azawad basés au nord du pays et le gouvernement de transition malien a atteint son paroxysme après la révélation du contenu de la nouvelle réforme constitutionnelle en début mars. Dans une déclaration rendue publique le 28 mars, les différents mouvements du Nord-Mali, regroupés dans le CSP-PSD (Cadre stratégique permanent pour la paix, la sécurité et le développement), ont accusé Bamako d’avoir renié ses engagements contenus dans l’Accord de paix signé en 2015 sous l’égide d’Alger. 

The 2015 Bamako Agreement was supposed to usher in a new era of peace and stability in Mali. However, not only has there been little progress in implementing the agreement, but the security situation remains volatile. This state of affairs is all the more troubling given the international community’s mobilization in support of the Malian state. Why, in spite of this mobilization, are some warning that the peace agreement is in danger of collapse?

Four days of meetings and negotiations in Rome brought facoing each other the government of Mali and the Tuareg groups of the north of the African country. This important moment of confrontation was organized by Ara Pacis Initiatives for Peace Onlus which succeeded in the very difficult task of getting the government of Bamako to talk to the former rebels. These armed groups, which are mainly of Arab and Tuareg ethnicity, have been playing a leading role in Mali crisis for many years, even before the country was overwhelmed by the jihadist wave. The military council led by Colonel Assimi Goita understood that it was necessary to come to terms with the representatives of the region called Azawad.

Au lendemain du survol, le 5 avril dernier, de la ville de Kidal par un avion de chasse de l’armée malienne, la communauté internationale a entrepris une médiation entre Bamako et Kidal à l’effet de relancer le processus de paix d’Alger. En effet, dans un communiqué datant du dimanche 9 avril 2023, la Médiation internationale, composée de l’Algérie et des représentants des cinq pays membres permanents du Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU annonce qu’elle a présenté au gouvernement malien et aux ex-rebelles du nord regroupés au sein de la Coordination des mouvements de l’Azawad (CMA), «des propositions concrètes visant à relancer la mise en œuvre de l’Accord pour la paix et la réconciliation nationale issu du Processus d’Alger».

The three entities united within the Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) announced their merger at the start of the month. With the Goïta Administration mired in controversy relative to the CMA, this is a highly symbolic movement. It was one of his priorities. When he took over the rotating presidency of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) in July 2022, Alghabass Ag Intalla immediately reiterated his desire for formal unity. On Wednesday 8 February, the main representatives of these Tuareg movements met on the sandy ground of the Mano Dayak stadium in Kidal to announce their merger into a single political and military entity, ushering in a new phase of history.

Au Mali, les anciens rebelles maintiennent leur opposition au référendum constitutionnel. Les autorités de transition ont annoncé un vote le 18 juin. Il sera organisé partout, sauf dans certaines zones du Nord contrôlées par les groupes armés signataires de l’accord de paix de 2015, notamment Kidal et Ménaka. La Coordination des Mouvements de l’Azawad (CMA) et la plateforme du CSP-PSD se sont réunies de samedi à ce mardi 6 juin à Kidal. Elles ont rencontré la médiation internationale dimanche. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramdane, est porte-parole du CSP. Pour lui, il n’est toujours pas question de soutenir l’initiative tant que l’accord de paix n’est pas relancé.

Mali's unexpected demand for the departure of U.N. peacekeepers may herald a sudden end to a decade-long mission that has struggled to protect civilians and its own troops, raising fears the country could slide deeper into chaos amid an Islamist insurgency and the possible revival of a separatist uprising. The U.N. mission, known as MINUSMA, has been hobbled by restrictions on its air and ground operations since Mali's ruling junta joined forces with Russian military contractor Wagner Group in 2021. That has limited its effectiveness against an Islamist insurgency that took root a decade ago and has since spread across West Africa.