In Mali, the climate is deteriorating between the main armed groups in the north, which signed a peace agreement with the government in 2015. On Saturday, the ex-rebels of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) claimed to have shot down, in the north, a plane of the national army which would have attacked one of their positions, and this Sunday, they announced that they were preparing to defend themselves militarily against the junta in power in Bamako.
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In our regional correspondent, Serge Daniel
On the ground in northern Mali, several sources confirm: just like the Malian army, the ex-rebels of the Coordination of Azawad Movements have considerably strengthened their positions.
An African diplomat stationed in Bamako worries and wonders: “ It’s getting tense, the ex-rebels of the CMA have brought out a war arsenal and one might wonder where it comes from. »
In a press release, the CMA affirms that with the help of its DCA (defense against aircraft), it shot down this weekend in the north, a Malian army plane, which would have attacked one of its positions. The Malian government has so far neither confirmed nor denied the information.
In the meantime, there is not much left of the peace agreement signed in 2015 between the two parties, note observers, who fear a resumption of hostilities.
The immediate issue: who will occupy the military camps that the United Nations mission, Minusma, is preparing to leave in the northeast?
The ex-rebels are clear: unlike in the northwest of the country, where the Malian army recently inherited the camp in the town of Ber left by the UN mission, there is no question of leaving the Malian troops settle in new camps, especially in the Kidal region, under the control of the CMA.
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