Talks with Mali rebels are underway

At the samtime the Malian Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra has visted Algeria where he held discussions with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. He went on to  see Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in France and  President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz in Mauritania. The United Nations Security Council has as yet declined to support an Ecowas and African Union backed force in its efforts to restore full democracy in Bamako and end the Tuareg rebel occupation of Northern Mali . The Council asked for more details on the propsed  Ecowas force and how it would operate.It is thought the Council is now more likely to endorse the operation.

This UN endorsement is vital because it enables the US ,France and European allies to "legally" supply intellegence assistance and  logistical and finacial aid to the operation. There is definitely no desire for outside forces to enter Mali as part of the fighting force,especially not,it is said the French,according to a report by Jeune Afrique. Niger and Chad  have said that their armed forces are ready to take part.They may  perhaps be able to benefit from Algerian air support..Mauritania has carried out cross border raids into Northern Mali and could e expected to take part. The Malian army has been weakened but there are US trained elements and those who have received foreign training who are said to be ready to fight.

This potential build up of forces may be one reason why the MNLA and Ansar Dine are now ready to talk to the Ecowas mediator. However Mali government statements have made it clear thet forced application of Sharia in the North of Mali is unacceptable to them. There is also the matter of over 300,000 Malians who have fled the fighting in Northern Mali and need to be reinstated with their rights to property and land. There is also the question of responsibility for atrocities which may have been committed.

Getting Al Qaeda and its affiliates to leave Northern Mali will not be an easy task but to isolate them from Ansar Dine would be an achievement. It is clear that the build up of Jihadi's from Pakistan and the Maghreb is one of the prime factors in mobilising support  for military action. Its supporters will be hoping that negotiations will work because military action carries the risk of further chaos across a region which is knwon for smuggling and lawlessness. Military action on its own will not solve the problems of Mali. The best that can be hoped for is restoring full democracy in the South of Mali and some kind of regional autonomy for the north.

Any agreement  should include a reasonable settlement for the Tuareg whose long standing grievances and broken agreements with Bamako are part of the reason the current uprising and declaration of indepenedce for Azawad.