Mali govt, rebel prisoners in exchange hope for a peace agreement

The Government of Mali and Tuareg rebel alliance significant exchanged prisoners this week, the two sides and a UN source said, in a move hailed as a step forward for the country’s nascent peace process.
A total of 47 prisoners were exchanged between the government and the coordination of movements of the Azawad (CMA), and marks a key bright spot for a country that, despite one month-old peace agreement has not yet seen the stability firmly anchored.
“The Malian government released 31 prisoners and rebels rebels released 16 Malian military prisoners,” an official of Minusma, the peace mission of the United Nations in Mali, told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The official said the exchange of prisoners took place on Thursday and was performed in order to “facilitate the peace process.”
Sources in the Defense Ministry and the CMA confirmed the exchange.
It was not immediately clear how long the prisoners were detained for, or their identities.
Despite a peace agreement was signed this year, Mali has been hit by violence in August and September between pro-government armed groups and rebel forces.
Divided into rival armed factions, beset by drug trafficking and thank you jihadism, the desert of northern Mali has struggled for stability since the West African nation gained independence in 1960.