Mali: resumption of clashes in Niono, the ceasefire agreement in danger
Dozo hunters are believed to have carried out the attack AFP / File
Text by: David Baché
3 min
In Mali, the situation is again very tense in the Niono circle (Ségou region, central Mali).
It was in this circle that an agreement was concluded last March, four months ago, between the jihadists of Katiba Macina, members of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims, linked to AQIM, and the traditional dozo hunters in the area, who tried to face them.
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This ceasefire agreement had made it possible, at the cost of concessions made to the jihadists on the wearing of the veil or the court decisions for example, to put an end to the deadly clashes which had bloodied the area for months.
There was the now emblematic case of the village of Farabougou, which had been subjected to a blockade for several months, until the conclusion (no signature, oral agreement) of this
agreement
.
But recent clashes are now putting this agreement in jeopardy.
"
Last July 3 marked the end of the agreement,
" laments a local elected official, who reports a resumption of population displacements, fearing the return of violence against civilians.
Since that day, in fact, according to several local sources, between three and six traditional Dozo hunters have been killed and several wounded by the Katiba Macina jihadists, in villages in the Niono circle, and in particular in the commune of Dogofry, which brings together several hamlets.
Ongoing negotiations
But this situation follows an earlier resurgence of tension: according to a mediator from the High Islamic Council, which obtained the ceasefire concluded in March, certain "
uncontrolled elements
" of the Dozo hunters did not respect the terms of the 'agreement.
Preventing Fulani shepherds from moving around with their animals, extorting an entire Fulani village, or cutting wood in areas supposed to be preserved by the agreement.
"
It is the jihadists who started
", affirms on the contrary a leader of the dozo hunters of the region, who explains however wanting "to
find a solution
".
Instructions would have even been given to hunters of the circle of Niono "
not to ignite the situation
".
Negotiations are currently being conducted, with dozo hunters and jihadists, to try, in the words of a mediator from the High Islamic Council, to "
save the agreement
" which had so far put an end to the violence, in particular against the civilians.
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