Mali’s ruling junta announced last Thursday the “immediate termination” of the crucial 2015 Algiers agreement with independence groups in the north of the country. This agreement, considered vital to stabilize the country, has been the subject of tension in recent years.
The junta cited the “change in posture of certain signatory groups” and “hostile acts and the exploitation of the agreement by the Algerian authorities” as reasons for this brutal termination. The announcement was made during a televised statement by Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, spokesperson for the government appointed by the army.
The Algiers agreement, already considered weakened, faced new challenges in 2023 as hostilities resumed between independence groups, mainly the northern Tuaregs, and the Malian army after the withdrawal of the United Nations Mission United Nations for Integrated Stabilization in Mali (MINUSMA) orchestrated by the junta.
At the start of 2023, Colonel Assimi Goïta, leader of the junta, announced the establishment of a “direct inter-Malian dialogue” to prioritize national ownership of the peace process.
In its statement on Thursday, the government officially declared the “absolute inapplicability” of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, and therefore its immediate termination. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the Permanent Strategic Framework, an alliance of armed groups that signed the 2015 agreement but resumed hostilities last year, said: “All avenues of negotiation are now closed. We we have no other choice but to wage this war which is imposed on us by this illegitimate junta with which dialogue is impossible.”
The termination of the Algiers Agreement is part of a series of ruptures initiated by the army, which took power in 2020. The junta severed long-standing ties with France and its European partners, turning towards Russia, and forced the departure of MINUSMA.
This termination also comes in a context of tense relations between Mali and its important neighbor, Algeria, with which Mali shares hundreds of kilometers of border. In a very virulent statement, Colonel Maïga accused Algeria of multiple acts of unfriendly behavior, hostility and interference in Mali’s internal affairs. The government denounced Algeria’s “erroneous perception” of Mali, considering it as their backyard or their doormat, showing contempt and condescension.
Among the various grievances, the junta accused Algeria of hosting offices of certain groups signatory to the 2015 agreement which became “terrorist actors”. The Malian regime “demands that the Algerian authorities immediately cease their hostility”.
Mali has been gripped by unrest since insurgencies, including independence and Salafist movements, erupted in the north in 2012. Tuareg-dominated groups have taken up arms to demand independence or autonomy, which which led to a jihadist insurgency linked to Al-Qaeda. The violence led to French military intervention and plunged the Sahel into conflict.
After a ceasefire in 2014, Tuareg-dominated armed groups and loyalist factions signed the Algiers peace agreement in 2015, which provided for greater local autonomy and the integration of fighters into an army “reconstituted” under the authority of the State.
However, jihadists continued to fight the state in the name of Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. The conflict, which has killed thousands and displaced millions, has spread to central Mali and the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso and Niger, both of which saw military coups in 2022 and 2023 .
The termination of the Algiers Agreement further complicates Mali’s already difficult prospects for peace and stability, raising concerns about intensifying conflict and strained regional relations.