The Tuareg and the Ansar Dine rebel movement have agreed to unite and declare a new state called Azawad in northern Mali, on a territory larger than France, two months after a coup was carried out in the country's capital.
"Ansar Dine and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azwad (Tuareg NMLA) declare the end of their previous way of existence. These two movements join together and form the Transitional Council of the Islamic State of Azwad", announced the two groups, saying that they advocate for the independence of Azwad (Northern Mali ) and accept Islam as their religion," reports AFP.
The agreement between the secular Tuareg and the Islamists was reached in the city of Gao after several weeks of bitter discussions between these two movements, which have long had different goals and ideologies.
While this was happening, the president of Mali's interim government, Dioncounda Traore, 70, who wants to restore Mali's unity, was in a hotel room in Paris recovering from an attack by protesters on the government headquarters.
Tuareg rebels, many of whom are mercenaries, fought Muammar Gaddafi's supporters in Libya, after which they returned well-armed to their country and relaunched the fight for autonomy with a major offensive in mid-January.
In a message earlier this week, the head of Al Qaeda's African branch, Abdelmalek Krukdel, called on fighters in northern Mali to "gradually" introduce Sharia law to create an Islamic state.
However, all this only opened the way for the Tuaregs and members of Ansar Dina, whose leader Ag Gali enjoys the support of Al Qaeda and the Islamic Maghreb, to occupy the vast north of the country, AFP said.
In a message earlier this week, the head of Al Qaeda's African branch, Abdelmalek Krukdel, called on fighters in northern Mali to "gradually" introduce Sharia law to create an Islamic state.
This development brings new problems to the transitional authorities in Mali, who want to restore the country's territorial integrity, but are unable to guarantee their own security, let alone confront the tribes in the north.
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