Peace process in Mali to receive international backing


The ongoing peace process in Mali is expected to receive international backing at a United Nations summit on Saturday.

The Malian President is due to join the meeting with senior UN officials.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon is expected to call for a return to peace and stability in the West African nation.
Mali has suffered instability for more than two years after Tuareg rebel groups took over towns in the north of the country.

A peace agreement was signed in June last year to allow the army, as well as the civil administration, to gradually return to the region of Kidal.

Despite initial improvements in 2013, the situation in northern Mali has deteriorated since the beginning of 2014.

The United Nations established a peacekeeping mission in the country known as MINUSMA in April last year.

SOURCE: Daniel Dickinson, United Nations