Conflict’s resolution in Mali is political, not military, says Attaf

ALGIERS — The Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf, affirmed on Wednesday in Algiers that the resolution of the conflict between the brothers in Mali cannot be military but “only political.”

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Responding to a question during a press conference at the ministry headquarters, Attaf noted the content of Algeria’s official statement following the Malian Government’s denunciation of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement in Mali, resulting from the Algiers process, in which it had warned against a possible return of civil war in this brotherly country.

Algeria underscored in this statement three facts that it still considers “essential,” particularly the fact that the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement signed in Algiers in 2015 “preserved the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Mali and the national unity of this brotherly country,” Attaf pointed out.

Underscoring that the denunciation of this agreement “undermines all the progress made in the country,” the minister said that “all of Algeria’s fears have now become reality in the region with the return of the civil war against which it had warned.”

That being said, “Algeria has affirmed that it cannot turn its back on what is happening in the Sahel and continues to follow the situation with concern, while being politically disposed to always contribute to regional security, stability and peace,” Attaf said.

“Algeria has taken a stance against preventive wars, as these are colonial concepts that our country cannot easily endorse,” Attaf said.

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