Rumours of a coup bedevil Burundi

BUJUMBURA, Burundi

Just when it all seemed calm, Burundi’s political tensions have risen again, following suspicions some senior leaders were plotting to oust President Evariste Ndayishimiye.

On Friday last week, President Ndayishimiye (pictured above), while addressing government officials in the capital Gitega, warned “some individuals” who he did not name are threatening to overthrow his government, just after two years in the office.

“Do you think an army general can be threatened by saying they will make a coup d’état?  Who is that? Whoever it is should come and in the name of God I will defeat him,” Mr Ndayishimiye warned.

The Burundian president expressed his frustration in the country’s political capital after video clips circulated on social media showing the country’s Prime Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni lamenting about “individuals who are backbiting” instead of telling things straight away.

The clips raised concerns of a possible feud between the Prime Minister and the President due to a power struggle even though the two have often appeared in public and the council of ministers’ meetings together.

“I want to tell those who think they are powerful to be humble…there is one I saw…in Burundi, there will never be any coup d’état again and God is the witness…those who wish bad things for Burundi, they should prepare for defeat,” the Burundian leader and army general warned.

A professor at the University of Bujumbura told The EastAfrican that the tensions between the PM and the President may be because of the policy changes under Gen Ndayishimiye. “There is a struggle inside the system as the president is changing a lot of things like fighting corruption and impunity. Many within are feeling the pinch,” he said on condition of anonymity so he can discuss the topic without fear of reprisals.

President Ndayishimiye, who took over power in June 2020, promised to restore the rule of law, accountability and fight against impunity.  This has resulted to dozens of high-profile government officials relieved from their duties for failure to deliver. This push has seen him regularise ties with the West as financial sanctions imposed by the European Union were lifted in February this year.

Burundi had gone through turmoil since it gained its Independence in 1962 with the most recent political crisis dating back in 2015 when protests against the former president Pierre Nkurunziza led to deaths of more than 1,000 people. There was a coup attempt to overthrow Nkurunziza’s government as he attended a summit of the East African Community in Dar es Salaam. The culprits are still serving jail terms.

“A coup d’état at this moment is more difficult but what we need to understand is that there is a crack within the system, and who knows what comes tomorrow? The president is facing a big challenge now,” the professor argued.

Burundi has witnessed three coups, two presidential assassinations, in addition to the failed coup in 2015 that plunged the country into deadly unrest. – The EastAfrican

‘Multiplying’ numbers fleeing village targeted by armed men in Mozambique

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The administrator of Eráti district, in Mozambique’s Nampula province, the scene of an armed attack on Friday, said on Tuesday that the number of people fleeing Kútua, on the southern bank of the Lúrio river, bordering Cabo Delgado province, continues to “multiply” in the wake of the violence.

"The movement of displaced people is continuing,” said the administrator, Manuel Manusso. “It is multiplying; we are in a crisis situation.”

Manusso said that people are seeking refuge in the district’s main town, Namapa, where they are welcomed by family members, local leaders and the population in general.

He did not specify the number of people who had left Kútua, the village targeted in the attack, but said that local communities were “disturbed” by the situation.

The district, he stressed, was already hosting people who had fled the violence in neighbouring Cabo Delgado province since the start of armed attacks in October 2017.

"We have been receiving this wave of displaced people,” Manusso said. “Some have been here for two or three years.”

He said that the Defence and Security Forces are on the ground, trying to restore security and allow people to return home.

A police spokesman in Nampula, Zacarias Nacute, told Lusa on Monday that the attack on Eráti may have been carried out by the same armed groups that have been terrorising Cabo Delgado.

"There is the possibility of it being a terrorist attack carried out by that group of individuals who are in Cabo Delgado province,” he said.

This is the second time that provinces neighbouring Cabo Delgado have been the target of attacks similar to those that have been happening there – and where it also remains unclear who precisly is the protagonist of the violence.

In December 2021, there were similar suspicions regarding attacks in parts of Niassa province bordering Cabo Delgado.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorised since 2017 by armed violence, with responsibility for some attacks claimed by a local affiliate of extremist group Islamic State.

The attacks prompted a military response, since last year aided by forces from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which has liberated districts near natural gas projects but seen a new wave of attacks in other areas to the south, closer to Pemba, the provincial capital.

Around 800,000 people have been internally displaced by the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and some 4,000 have been killed, according to the conflict registration project ACLED.

It is estimated that half of the affected population are children and young people no older than 20, reflecting the country’s age pyramid. - Lusa

173 civilians killed in four months on fighting in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan

173 civilians have been killed, 12 injured, and 37 women and children abducted in South Sudan’s Unity State, according to a new joint report published by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

According to a statement from UNMISS, the violations were committed during clashes between joint government forces and affiliated armed militias/groups on the one hand, and elements of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) loyal to First Vice-President Riek Machar on the other.

The report, which covers the period between February 11 and May 31, 2022, is based on 32 verification missions conducted by UNMISS in three counties – Koch, Leer, and Mayendit – and neighboring areas.

Many of the abductees were subjected to sexual violence, including girls as young as eight-years-old and a nine-year-old girl who was gang-raped to death. A total of 131 cases of rape and gang rape were documented. Approximately 44,000 civilians were displaced from at least 26 villages.

UNMISS identified joint government forces and allied militias/groups reportedly operating under the command of officials of Koch and Mayendit counties as the main perpetrators of the human rights violations and abuses. The SPLM/A-IO (RM) also perpetrated attacks in Mirmir Payam, Koch County.

"Human rights violations were committed with impunity. The government is duty-bound under international law to protect civilians, investigate allegations of human rights violations, and hold suspected perpetrators accountable in compliance with fair trial standards,” the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS, Nicholas Haysom said. After five years of brutal civil war,

Since the signing of the peace deal in 2018, it is yet to produce tangible results as political crisis and violence, food insecurity and economic meltdown continue to ravage the world’s youngest nation.

Thirty-five civilians killed in IED blast in Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso

At least 35 civilians were killed and 37 wounded Monday when an IED blast struck a convoy carrying supplies in Burkina Faso's jihadist-hit north, the governor of the Sahel region said.

The landlocked African state is in the grip of a seven-year-old insurgency that has claimed more than 2,000 lives and forced some 1.9 million people to leave their homes.

Monday's incident took place as the military-led convoy was supplying towns in the restive north on a road between Bourzanga to Djibo, according to a statement by Sahel region governor Rodolphe Sorgo.

"One of the vehicles carrying civilians hit an improvised explosive device. The provisional toll is 35 dead and 37 injured, all civilians," it said.

"The escorts quickly secured the perimeter and took measures to help the victims," the statement said, adding that the convoy had left the north for Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou.

A security source told AFP the supply convoy was "composed of civilians, drivers and traders".

According to a resident of Djibo, "several dozen vehicles, including trucks and public transport buses" were hit.

"The victims are mainly traders who were going to buy supplies in Ouagadougou and students who were returning to the capital for the next school year," the resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.

Jihadist groups have recently staged similar attacks on arterial roads leading to the main cities in the north -- Dori and Djibo.

At the start of August, 15 soldiers died in the same area in a double IED blast.

Much of the fighting has been concentrated in the north and east, led by jihadists suspected to have links with Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.

With more than 40 percent of the country outside government control, Burkina's ruling junta, which seized power in January, has declared the fight against the insurgency a top priority.

On Sunday evening, in a speech to the nation from the town of Dori, junta chief Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba welcomed a "relative calm" in several localities.

The government said it had intensified the army's "offensive actions" and also initiated a process of dialogue with certain armed groups, through religious and local leaders.

According to Damiba, this process has enabled "several dozen young people" to lay down their arms.

However, there have been numerous attacks since the beginning of the year, such as last June's massacre in the northwestern department of Seytenga, when 86 civilians were killed -- one of the bloodiest of the long-running insurgency.

Since last year, Burkina has become the epicentre of violence, with more deadly attacks than in neighbouring Mali or Niger in 2021, according to the NGO Acled.

Two Russian Embassy staff among six killed in Kabul suicide blast

KABUL, Russia

Two Russian embassy employees were among six people killed in a suicide blast near Russia's embassy in Kabul on Monday.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that "an unknown militant set off an explosive device. As a result of the attack, two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed." The ministry added that "there are also victims among Afghan citizens" without giving further details.

"One of the employees of the embassy was an Afghan guard and we still do not know the nationality of the second person," an Afghan security source told CNN. Another 10 people were injured in the blast.

Kabul's police spokesman said that explosives went off in a crowd of people after an attacker was identified and shot by Afghan security forces near the Russian embassy.

"Today around 11 a.m. local time a suicide bomber, who was planning to blow up his explosives among the crowd of people, was identified and shot by the security forces near the Russian embassy in Police District 7, Kabul. As a result, his explosives went off," police spokesman Khalid Zadran said on Twitter.

There has not been a claim of responsibility yet.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said additional Taliban forces had been brought in to secure the embassy in the Afghan capital.

"Two of our comrades have died. A set of measures were immediately taken to strengthen the protection of the outer perimeter," Lavrov said during a meeting with Tajikistan's foreign minister in Moscow. The "intelligence and counterintelligence services of Afghanistan are involved," he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the attack as "unacceptable."

"This was a terrorist attack, they are absolutely unacceptable. We strongly condemn such terrorist acts. Of course, now the main thing is to get information about what happened to our diplomats. As far as I understand, the information will be updated," Peskov told a briefing Monday.

Kenya: Raila to keep the 'democratic' movement rolling

NAIROBI, Kenya

Kenya’s Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga has disagreed with the decision of the Supreme Court of Kenya which dismissed his petition and upheld election of William Ruto as president-elect.

In a statement in reference to the verdict, Raila said even though the judgement was not in their favour, it does not end the Azimio la Umoja movement.

"The judgement is by no means the end of our movement, in fact, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to transform this country into a prosperous democracy where each and every Kenyan can find their full belongoing," he stated.

The former prime minister said that he will soon communicate their plans of continuing with the struggle for transparency, accountability and democracy.

On Monday, the apex court in a unanimous ruling upheld William Ruto's victory as the fifth President of Kenya. 

Reading the verdict on Monday, Chief Justice Martha Koome said Ruto garnered 50 percent plus one votes cast. 

Ruto had garnered 7.1m while Raila Odinga garnered 6.9m as declared by the IEBC.

The confirmation followed an intense 14-day process in which lawyers representing Azimio's Raila Odinga, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and President-elect William Ruto did battle.

The Supreme Court received nine petitions, of which eight challenged Ruto's election, while one support his victory.

Liz Truss to replace Boris Johnson as next U.K. Prime Minister

LONDON, UK

Liz Truss was on Monday announced as the UK's next prime minister, after winning an internal leadership contest of the ruling Conservative party.

The foreign secretary beat her rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, by 81,326 votes to 60,399, after a summer-long internal contest sparked by Boris Johnson's resignation in July.

Truss becomesthe UK's third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher.

The 47-year-old has consistently led 42-year-old Sunak in polling among the estimated 200,000 Tory members eligible to vote.

The leadership contest began in July after Johnson announced his departure following a slew of scandals and resignations from his government.

Postal and online voting closed Friday after eight weeks of campaigning that Truss described to the BBC as "the longest job interview in history".

Truss told the Daily Mail that as prime minister she would "do everything in my power to make sure everyone, no matter where they are from, has the opportunity to go as far as their talent and hard work takes them".

However, she faces a tough task in winning over general public opinion.

A YouGov poll in late August found 52 percent thought Truss would make a "poor" or "terrible" prime minister.

Forty-three percent said they did not trust her "at all" to deal with the burning issue of the rise in the cost of living.

Whoever emerges as winner faces "the worst in-tray for a new prime minister since Thatcher", The Sunday Times wrote.

The UK is gripped by its worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, with inflation soaring into double digits and energy prices shooting up on the back of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Millions say that with bills set to rise by 80 percent from October -- and even higher from January -- they face a painful choice between eating and heating this winter, according to surveys.

"If I'm elected prime minister, I will act immediately on bills and on energy supply," Truss told the BBC on Sunday, while declining to go into details.

British newspapers, including the Times and Daily Telegraph, reported Monday that she was considering freezing energy bills for consumers, with the government reimbursing suppliers.

Truss has campaigned on a promise to slash taxes and prioritise economic growth, with Britain tipped to enter recession later this year.

She said Sunday she would "within a month present a full plan for how we are going to reduce taxes" and "get the British economy going".

Kenya's Supreme Court confirms Ruto's election as president

NAIROBI, Kenya

The Supreme Court Monday afternoon upheld the election of William Ruto as Kenya’s fifth president, summing up the meteoric rise of a man who defied his boss and the sitting administration to be the country’s youngest Head of State.

The Chief Justice Martha Koome-led Bench unanimously threw out a petition by Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition candidate Raila Odinga, who argued the declaration of Ruto was null and void.

She ruled; "This is a unanimous decision of the court and we make the following orders; The presidential election petition number E005 of 2022 as consolidated with presidential election petition numbers E001, 2, 3,4,7 and 8 of 2022 are hereby dismissed."

"As a consequence, we declare the election of the first respondent as President-elect to be valid under Article 143 of the Constitution. This being a matter cutting across the public interest, we order that each party bear their own cost. It is so ordered."

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati, on August 15, 2022, declared William Ruto the winner after garnering 7,176,141 votes, representing 50.49 per cent of the total votes cast and he achieved the minimum number of 39 counties at 25%.

His main rival Raila Odinga of the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition party got 6,942,930 votes representing 48 per cent of the votes cast.

While delivering the abridged version of the judgement, Chief Justice Martha Koome said the petitioners failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was electoral malfeasance to warrant annulment.

"It is our finding that the declared President-Elect attained 50% +1 of all the votes cast in accordance with article 138.4 of the constitution," she ruled.

The apex court also dismissed all of the nine petitions that had been presented before it to show the need to annul the election of President-Elect Ruto.

According to the Constitution, President-Elect Ruto is set to be sworn in next week Tuesday.

“The President-elect shall be sworn in on the first Tuesday following the fourteenth day after the date of the declaration of the result of the presidential election if no petition has been filed under Article 140; or The seventh day following the date on which the court renders a decision declaring the election to be valid, if any petition has been filed under Article 140.”

Zimbabwe government harasses opposition with arrests, jail

HARARE, Zimbabwe 

Opposition politicians languishing in prison. Journalists and government critics harassed and arrested. Public meetings banned.

Zimbabwe’s general election is several months away but many opposition figures say they are already battling intense government repression similar to the iron-fisted rule of Robert Mugabe, the former president who died in 2019.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is responding with force to opposition to his rule, stoked by worsening economic conditions including inflation at more than 250% and the emergence of a popular new party.

Among those suffering from the government’s dragnet is opposition member of parliament Job Sikhala, who has been detained in the harsh Chikurubi prison near the capital, Harare, for close to three months on accusations of inciting violence.

The fiery 50-year-old Sikhala has been arrested more than 65 times in his two-decade political career but has never been convicted of any crime, say his lawyers.

Most recently Sikhala was arrested in June with more than two dozen other activists of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change, known as the CCC, and accused of fanning violence after skirmishes with ruling party supporters. Repeated attempts to get bail for him and the others have failed.

"The reason they have not been given bail is because they (prosecutors) know they will not get convicted. The idea is to make them serve,” said lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa.

"They know they don’t have the evidence to prove the cases,” said Mtetwa, saying the government’s legal tactics are “lawfare” to weaken political opponents.

Criticism of Mnangagwa’s government has been stoked by Zimbabwe’s inflation, currently estimated to be one of the world’s highest and rising numbers of people pushed into informal trade such as street vending. More than two-thirds of Zimbabweans eke out a living in the informal sector, one of the highest rates in the world, according to the IMF.

Few of Zimbabwe’s poor believe the recent introduction of gold coins as legal tender will improve their day-to-day hardships.

The CCC party, launched in January and led by Nelson Chamisa, 44, has attracted considerable attention and followers. In response, police in Harare and other cities have been banning the party’s meetings, as well as gatherings of civic organizations and church groups perceived as government critics.

Dozens of people — including opposition supporters, political activists, journalists, church leaders, trade union members and student leaders — have been arrested and appear in court on various charges that legal experts say are harassment.

Mnangagwa’s strategy to stay in power appears to be to use the police, military, and security forces to keep the opposition in turmoil until elections are held next year, say analysts.

"The current environment has worrying indicators of the possibility of yet another violent and contested electoral period,” noted the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum in a statement in August.

Zimbabwe is facing “a breakdown in the rule of law and constitutionalism; overt militarization of government, security sector brutality, political polarization, exclusion and violence, shrinking civic space and widespread human rights violations,” said the group.

In recent weeks Mnangagwa has called for peace while at the same time lambasting the opposition and accusing it of being sponsored by Western powers.

It’s similar to the ways of Mugabe, who in his 37 years in power used harsh repression against all opposition. Although Mugabe was forced to resign in 2017, the same party remains in power.

ZANU-PF fought a bitter and bloody war throughout the 1970s, with backing from China, against the white-minority regime of Rhodesia. The guerilla movement won elections in 1980 and has ruled the country ever since, with a strong distrust of the West and multiparty politics.

"The complexities of Zimbabwe politics remain one where there was never a genuine transformation of the liberation movement of ZANU-PF into a political party suiting democratic dictates of the 21st century,” said Alexander Rusero, a Harare-based academic and political commentator.

"Liberation politics is informed by skepticism and binary characterization of citizens as either friends or enemies,” he said. “ZANU-PF continues to classify opposition parties and civil society activists as stooges of the West. It will continue to use its power to crush them, just like what happened during Mugabe’s time.

Stabbings inCanada kill10,wound 15; suspects at large

At least 19 civilians killed by extremists in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia

At least 19 civilians were killed in an attack by radical Shebab Islamists on a road in central Somalia on Friday night.

According to local officials and clan leaders, at least eight passenger minibuses and trucks travelling on a road between the towns of Beledweyne and Maxaas were intercepted, bundled and set on fire killing their passengers.

The attackers are said to have abducted several other people whose fate remains unknown.

The attack took place two weeks after a spectacular assault by the al-Qaeda affiliated Shebab on a hotel in the capital Mogadishu that left at least 21 people dead and 117 injured.

In statement, the Shebab extremists announced they had targeted fighters from a local sub-clan.

In August security forces and local fighters announced they had recaptured several villages previously under al-Shebab control.

On Saturday night, Somalia's president condemned the despicable acts on innocent civilians. 

Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, who has been facing a resurgence of extremist activity since his election in May, promised that the government will spare no effort in the fight against terrorism.

Since 2007 that the radical group has been waging a war against the internationally-backed federal government. - Africa

Mali hosts Burkina Faso military leader to discuss bilateral cooperation

BAMAKO, Mali

Mali's coup leader and the leader of Burkina Faso's military junta met on Saturday in Malian capital, Bamako to discuss bilateral cooperation.

Colonel Assimi Goita welcomed visiting Burkinabe leader Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

The visit coincided with the release of three Ivorian female soldiers, part of a group of 49 Ivorian military, detained in Mali since July.

"Today we have conducted a friendly visit to Mali in the framework of cooperation that exists between Burkina (Faso) and Mali, and it was also a good time for us, since we are in periods of transition, to come meet the Malian authorities to share and exchange on the challenges which confront the Malian transition (government) and also on the side of Burkina Faso. We agreed to better examine and reinforce the military partnership that exists between us to overcome the security challenges that confront our populations in the coming days", said Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, interim president of Burkina Faso.

After Mali, the Burkinabe leader travels to the Ivory Coast on Monday as tensions grow between the two neighbouring countries.

Kenya’s top court to deliver Monday ruling on petition challenging Ruto’s win

By Our Correspondent, NAIROBI Kenya

Kenya’s top court is set to deliver its ruling on Monday on the petition challenging the declaration of William Ruto as the winner of the country’s August 9 presidential election.

The Supreme Court’s ruling comes 14 days since the petition was filed, as former Prime Minister alleges foul play by the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The results declared on August 15 by the chairman of the IEBC Wafula Chebukati showed Ruto emerged the winner with 50.49 percent of the votes, beating Raila Odinga who had 48.85 percent. The other candidates George Wajackoyah and David Mwaure obtained 0.44 percent and 0.27 percent respectively.

However, as Chebukati was announcing the results, four of seven Commissioners held a separate press briefing to denounce the results.

The commissioners also alleged being left out on the periphery in decision-making at the IEBC, accusing the Chair of making the decisions unilaterally.

Odinga went ahead to file a petition challenging the election result on August 22, hoping to overturn the result.

Submissions by lawyers ended on Saturday, after which the court’s seven judges retreated to consider them and make a judgment.

Should the judges nullify the result, this would be the second consecutive election that is voided by the top court, having also nullified the 2017 election and ordered a repeat.

Ahead of Monday’s ruling, police have been deployed strategically across the country to deal with the public’s reaction.- Africa

Tanzania's Vodacom lost $44.3 million due to fierce levy

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

Tanzania’s mobile phone operator Vodacom lost Tsh103.8 billion ($44.34 million) worth of revenues after 1.3 million customers dropped mobile money services due to a levy imposed by the government in July last year.

The telco, which is listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), disclosed through its latest annual report (2022) that the levies significantly increased the cost of mobile money transactions.

Its M-Pesa revenues for the 12 months to March 31 dropped by 7.6 percent to Tsh329.6 billion ($140.8 million) as a result of the contentious levy, according to the report.

"While the impact of the levy is difficult to dismiss, we are encouraged with an increasingly open-door attitude from the government, with respect to this matter,” says Group chairman Justice (Rtd) Thomas Mihayo.

"We remain optimistic that together with the government, we will find solutions that will progress further realisation of benefits that technology can deliver to the country and financial inclusion. The introduction of mobile money levy in the year was an unfortunate development for financial inclusion in Tanzania.” 

In June last year, the Tanzanian government amended the Electronic and Postal Communication Act and imposed a levy of between Tsh10 ($0.004) and Tsh10, 000 ($4.27) on mobile money transactions, depending on the amount sent and withdrawn.

However, following a public outcry, the levy which became effective on July 15, 2021 was reduced by 30 percent in September 2021 and a further 43 percent from July 1, translating into a total reduction of 60 percent since the charge was introduced.

"The decision will reduce the end-user charges. We believe by unlocking the growth potential in M-Pesa we can meaningfully address financial inclusion,” says Hilda Bujiku, the telco’s acting managing director.

According to GSMA, the average transaction fee increased from three percent to 369 percent depending on the transaction, following the introduction of the new mobile money levy.

For example, the average fee for a transfer between Tsh40,000 ($17.08) and Tsh49,999 ($21.36) increased by 369 percent from Tsh407 ($0.17) to Tsh1,907 ($0.81). 

The new levy applies in addition to value added tax of 18 percent and excise duty on mobile money transfer and withdrawal fees of 10 percent making mobile money transactions in Tanzania very expensive compared to other East African countries.

GSMA, the global mobile phone operator lobby group through a report titled “Tanzania Mobile Money Levy Impact Analysis” dated March 2022, shows that mobile money transactions became more expensive in Tanzania on account of the new levy. - EastAfrican

Mali ex-rebels and the government return to talks after almost a year

BAMAKO, Mali

After almost a year away from the negotiating table, ex-rebels and the government in Mali have resumed talks.

On Friday, an alliance of Tuareg and Arab rebel groups, pro-government armed groups and the government met with the monitoring committee of Algiers agreement, signed in 2015

Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ramtane Lamamra, said the talks had been constructive.

"A number of observations were made. The comments that were made by the government representative were satisfactory in content and tone, and I am confident that at our next meeting we will make even more significant progress."

It is the first time the groups have met in 11 months to discuss the major deal with participants feeling hopeful.  

Head of the Coordination of Azawad Movements, Attaye Ag Mohamed, is cautiously optimistic about the talks.

"The government of Mali and the parties have once again reiterated the commitment to work for the full and consensual implementation of the peace and reconciliation agreement," he says.

"This is a strong message, but we expect action."

So far, there has been slow progress on the deal which aims to reintegrate 26,000 former rebels but Mahamadou Diouara, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of National Reconciliation of Mali, feels the negotiations are a good step forward.

"What is more important is that all the Malian parties have renewed their mutual trust, and they are in the process of giving each other the benefit of good faith in dealing with the issues."

There has been turmoil in Mali since its independence and jihadist insurgencies in the north in 2012.

Mali has also seen military coups in 2020 and 2021