US urges end to fighting in northern Mali town
A Malian soldier arrests a man at a checkpoint one day after Islamist gunmen battled French and Malian troops, on February 11, 2013 in Gao. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- The fighting erupted after more than 100 black inhabitants were expelled from Kidal by the lighter-skinnned MNLA in an act the government has denounced as "ethnic cleansing."
WASHINGTON
The United States called Wednesday for a negotiated end to fighting that has pitted Malian soldiers against armed Tuareg rebels in northern Mali, so that elections can take place.
"The United States supports an urgent negotiated resolution to Kidal that will permit the return of civil administration so that presidential elections can be carried out in the entire Malian territory on July 28," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
In a statement, she also condemned "racially-motivated acts of detention and expulsions in Kidal," urging all sides to show restraint.
Malian troops earlier attacked rebel positions south of the regional capital of Kidal at the start of an operation to recapture it from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).
The fighting erupted after more than 100 black inhabitants were expelled from Kidal by the lighter-skinnned MNLA in an act the government has denounced as "ethnic cleansing."
The unrest has cast a shadow over talks between Malian officials and Tuareg leaders aimed at clearing the way for the presidential elections.
Washington was providing funding to help organize the elections, Psaki said.
"This is a vital part of restoring peace and stability in Mali and in the region, and will set the stage for a broader process of national reconciliation in a unified Mali," she added.
The MNLA rose up to fight for independence for the north in January last year and overwhelmed government troops, leading frustrated mid-level officers to launch a coup that toppled elected president Amadou Toumani Toure.
Together with Al-Qaeda-linked militants, they seized key northern cities, but were then chased out by their former Islamist allies.
France sent troops in January to block an advance by the extremists on the capital Bamako, pushing them out of the main cities and into desert and mountain hideouts.
The French then let the MNLA back into Kidal, raising fears in Bamako, 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) to the southwest, that Paris wants to let the Tuareg rebels keep Kidal as part of an eventual deal for self-rule.
