UN Security Council appeals to Mali factions to reach peace deal

Xinhua

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The UN Security Council on Friday called on Mali's warring parties "to engage in good faith and in the spirit of compromise" towards a comprehensive and inclusive peace deal as they are set to resume peace talks in Algeria.

The peace talks between the Malian government and rebels is set to resume in the Algerian capital of Algiers with an aim to " achieve a comprehensive and inclusive peace agreement to end the crisis in Mali," said the 15-nation council in a statement issued here Friday.

"The members of the Security Council called on the Malian parties to fully comply with their commitments in the roadmap signed on 24 July 2014, and to engage in good faith and in the spirit of compromise in the comprehensive peace talks in Algiers when they resume," said the statement.

The council members commended Algeria for facilitating the peace negotiations, at the request of the Malian authorities, in the organization of formal peace talks and in convening the government of Mali and the signatory and adherent armed groups of the Ouagadougou Agreement, the statement said.

The peace talks between the Malian government and armed rebels began in September in Algiers, the second round of negotiations since July aimed at clinching a lasting peace agreement.

UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Herve Ladsous, is currently in Algiers for the peace talks on Mali, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Friday.

"He will encourage the parties to negotiate in a spirit of compromise so they can reach a comprehensive peace agreement," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "Such agreement is the cornerstone of peace, stability and security in Mali."

Since a military coup struck Mali in March 2012, its northern region has served as a stronghold of the rebels.

Mali is now in the process of restoring democracy with the help of the United Nations and African regional bodies, including the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS).

The council members "urged all parties to fully respect the ceasefire agreement signed on 23 May 2014, as well as the declaration of the Cessation of Hostilities signed in Algiers on 24 July 2014 and to refrain from any action that could jeopardize the prospects for peace and to reject the recourse to violence," the statement said.

"They called on the parties to swiftly implement all agreed confidence-building measures, in particular the mechanisms established by the declaration of the Cessation of Hostilities to facilitate the implementation of the ceasefire, in close coordination with MINUSMA," the statement said, referring to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali.

"The members of the Security Council expressed their serious concern about the deteriorating security situation in the North of Mali and reiterated their strong condemnation of all deadly attacks against MINUSMA," the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council urged the armed groups operating in northern Mali to demonstrate their commitment to cooperate with the United Nations to immediately stop and condemn attacks against peacekeepers, in line with the declaration they signed on 16 September 2014 in Algiers and called on all actors on the ground to help to prevent such attacks," the statement said.

Despite initial security improvements in 2013, the situation in northern Mali has deteriorated since the beginning of this year. An increase in incidents involving improvised explosive devices, mostly targeting Malian and international security forces, has impeded the return to normalcy and resumption of economic and development activities. Enditem