Mali Set Sights On Political Talks In Bid To Defuse Jihadist Crisis

Talks on finding a political solution to Mali's deepening crisis begin on Saturday, hampered by a sceptical opposition and little sign of support on the ground

Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Dec, 2019 ) :Talks on finding a political solution to Mali's deepening crisis begin on Saturday, hampered by a sceptical opposition and little sign of support on the ground.

Dubbed a "national inclusive dialogue," the talks offer embattled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita a chance to regain momentum after months of jihadist and ethnic violence.

Islamists have killed more than 140 Malian troops since September, in a widening insurgency that has also inflamed bloodshed between Fulani herders and sedentary farmers in the country's centre.

The jihadist attacks form part of a Sahel-wide insurgency which national armed forces, backed by 4,500 French troops, are struggling to contain.

On Tuesday, 71 soldiers in Niger died when hundreds of jihadists hit their base near the border with Mali.

- Not just security - The failure of a military response is now prompting many to conclude that the quest for a solution has to go beyond mere security -- poverty, rights or climate change must also be addressed. And some also favour a dialogue with the jihadists.

The nine days of talks, bringing together political parties and associations, are intended to be a crucible for debate for alternative solutions.

Keita has promised that the dialogue will be "fruitful and reforming" and the occasion belongs to "the people and future of Mali.""All concerns should and must be expressed without taboo," he promised.

A Western diplomat, who declined to be named, argued that dialogue could break the "immobility of the political class, (which) is only widening the gap with Malians".