Algerian President offers mediation efforts in Mali

On July 18th, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune devoted part of his address to the national press to the current situation in Mali, as reported by Radio France Internationale on July 21st. 

He stated he would be available if Mali, once again, wanted his country to be involved in the search for peace in the north, but that Algeria would not accept mercenaries at its borders.

“Even if Russia is a friendly country, Algeria has expressed its rejection of the presence of mercenaries at its borders”. With these remarks to the Algerian press, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was targeting in particular the Russian military Wagner Group, which was recently replaced by the Russia-owned Africa Corps.

On the crisis in Mali, he said his country would be involved only as a mediator between the regime in Bamako and the rebels in the north on one condition: an official request be made by the Malian authorities.

For the moment, the junta is not prepared to make such a request. The two countries have diverged on multiple occasions. Two years ago, Mali denounced the Algiers agreements it signed with the armed groups in the north, which had been a result of Algerian mediation efforts.

The government of Bamako went further, accusing its neighbour of harbouring “terrorists who come to attack on Malian territory”.

Given that the two countries share a 1,376km long land border, rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front who were defeated in Kidal have found refuge in Algeria. The Malian junta wants to put them on trial, however the Algerian government does not consider them terrorists, but rather armed groups opposed to the Malian government.

Radio France Internationale, Maghrebi.org