For nearly ten months, armed groups in the North have been calling for working sessions to try to relaunch the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement. The question of the disarmament-demobilization-reintegration (DDR) process for combatants from armed groups is particularly at the heart of the discussions.
The “decision-making level meeting” which brings together in Bamako the Malian transitional government and the armed groups of the North who signed the 2015 peace agreement has not yet been completed, but the armed groups are already expressing a certain satisfaction. Halfway through, they judge the progress of the works ” constructive ” and ” positive “.
Fahad Ag Almahmoud, secretary general of Gatia, an armed group member of the so-called “loyalist” Platform, is already delighted with concrete progress on the quotas of fighters from armed groups to join the Malian army. “ For the first time, we have a very important offer. The Malian government is proposing to integrate the first tranche of 13,000 ex-combatants out of the 26,000 it has accepted. It’s really positive. »
One thousand seven hundred fighters from the signatory groups of the peace agreement have already been integrated into the Malian forces. They are included in the 13,000 bracket which should therefore be included in the current year. The other 13,000 could be integrated within two years.
A commission to define their place in command
The ex-independence rebels of the CMA express the same satisfaction on this point. But Almouzamil Ag Mohamed, spokesman for the CMA, is worried about a blockage about the distribution of positions in the military hierarchy: “ We are talking about the insertion of senior military leaders of the movements at the level of the chain of command. We do want to see our senior officers inserted into the chain of command. The government must make an offer, we are waiting. Discussions on this question of command posts are continuing, a specific commission should be created.
The decision-making level meeting for the peace agreement continues on Thursday, between the government and the armed groups. On Friday, international mediation will be associated with the final working day.