Mali: Paris reacts to IBK's offer of dialogue to jihadist leaders

Text by: RFI Follow

Monday, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced the existence of a dialogue with Amadou Koufa the head of katiba Macina, and Iyad Ag Ghali, who heads the GSIM. How is France reacting to this announcement knowing that Ag Ghali has been its number one target for several years? Solicited, the Quai d'Orsay does not condemn the Malian initiative.

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Paris is not offended to see Bamako initiating a dialogue with these two jihadist leaders . In a press release, the Quai d'Orsay believes that the " initiatives " taken by the Malian president are in the context of " recommendations of the inclusive national dialogue ".

And the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to judge that " collective action in the Sahel is multidimensional " and that " beyond the security aspect, the emphasis must be on the issues of stabilization, development and reconciliation ".

But in its press release, the Quai takes great care to specify that France is fighting " armed terrorist groups in the Sahel at the request of the states of the region and in particular of Mali ". Implied: if Bamako negotiates with these two jihadist leaders, this is not the case in Paris.

Suspected of having murdered several French nationals, Iyad Ag Ghali has for several years been France's No. 1 public enemy in the region. It is therefore out of the question to negotiate with him. " We have never been associated with mediation attempts ," confided an Elysian source in early January. A source who then cast a critical eye on these discussions initiated by Bamako. But from the summit of Pau, it seems that Paris has put water in its wine.

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