Mali hotel attack an attempt to derail peace process, say separatists

The assault on a luxury hotel in Mali’s capital that killed 19 people was a clear attempt to derail a fragile peace process meant to stabilise the country’s volatile north, a representative of northern separatist groups have said.

Peace negotiations have been dragging on between the central government and northern separatist groups for more than two years in an effort to end the disputes that turned large sections of the country into havens for radical Islamic militants.

The talks have shown some promise in recent months and the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, which was attacked by two gunmen on Friday, had been set to host a meeting on implementing the latest accords.

“The attack was targeting the peace agreement,” said Sidi Brahim Ould Sidati, a representative of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).

Seeking autonomy

The CMA is a coalition of groups seeking autonomy in northern Mali, including ethnic Arabs and Tuaregs.

“The jihadis are in different groups but their goal is the same, and that’s to hinder implementation of the peace accord,” Mr Sidati said.

The hotel attack was claimed by the Al-Mourabitoun (The Sentinels) radical group which has links to al-Qaeda. It said attacks would continue until the government ended its “aggression against our people in the north and the centre of Mali”.

The timing of the attack suggested a well-planned operation that analysts said could have been an attempt by al-Qaeda and its allies to assert its relevance amid high-profile assaults by the rival Islamic State group, including the November 13 attacks on Paris that killed 130 people.

The separatists and other analysts say, however, that it may have been an effort to derail Mali’s fragile recovery.

Jean-Herve Jezequel, of the International Crisis Group, said it was a “new element” for Al-Mourabitoun to position itself as defenders of the northern region. Mr Sidati said he suspected this type of rhetoric was intended to help the extremists get as many recruits from northern Mali as possible.

In the northern Mali regions of Timbuktu and Kidal, new leaflets were distributed on Saturday warning against collaboration with the Malian army, France and the United Nations peacekeeping mission, he added. – (Reuters)