The Malian leaders are ready for talks with members of the Ansar al-Din Islamist group and the Tuareg tribes from the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad who have seized the country’s north.
“We need a dialogue because the people making up the NNLA and Ansar al-Din are our fellow countrymen,” Prime Minister Modibo Diarra said on Sunday.
He did not say when exactly the talks would start, but held out hope that it would happen soon.
The leaders of both rebel groups welcomed the initiation and said they were ready for consultations with the government which is seen as a last-ditch attempt to prevent an intervention by an international peacekeeping force.
(Agencies)