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In a statement acquired by AFP, ex-rebels from the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) in northern Mali declared they were in a “time of war” with the ruling junta.
The CMA, an alliance of Tuareg-dominated parties seeking autonomy or independence from the Malian state, urged all people of the northern Azawad region to “go to the field to contribute to the war effort” in a statement widely shared on social media.
The CMA stated in its statement that its goal was to “defend and protect the homeland while regaining control of the entire territory.”
It was the first document signed by a group calling itself the “Azawadian National Army”.
A 2015 peace pact between the government and the CMA, known as the Algiers agreement, has been hanging on a thread.
Mali’s junta called on armed groups in the north to revive discussion and an ailing peace pact in late August, amid worries of further bloodshed after the UN peacekeeping force withdraws.
After a decade of fighting to stabilize the country’s security situation amid separatist and Islamist rebellions, the UN peacekeeping force known as Minusma has until December 31 to leave Mali.
