Mali main rebel group pledge to sign peace deal in May

Rebels from northern Mali have told mediators they will initial a long-delayed United Nations-brokered peace proposal on the future of Mali’s north next month, a spokesman for the lead separatist group said late on Sunday.
The government, based in the capital Bamako in the country’s south, and another coalition of pro-government armed groups accepted the proposal in early March, but the Tuareg coalition from the north refused after consultations with its supporters.
Worried that the absence of a peace deal will lead to an intensification of violence in the vast lawless desert region, the Malian government and diplomats have cranked up pressure on mostly Tuareg separatists, at times threatening sanctions.
“We have finally given our agreement to initial the document following efforts employed by international institutions and powers,” said the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) spokesman Moussa Ag Acharatoumane ahead of a planned meeting in Algiers on May 15.