Algeria offers to mediate Mali's conflict with Tuareg rebels

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has offered to mediate between Mali’s military junta and northern rebel groups, Africa News reports, but only if Bamako formally requests it. The offer comes amid rising tensions between the two countries over cross-border security and accusations of interference.

Mali’s regime has clashed with the CMA, a coalition of Tuareg and Arab nationalist fighters, since pulling out of a 2015 Algeria-brokered peace deal in 2023. The breakdown followed fighting between the CMA and Malian forces backed by Russian Africa Corps mercenaries, formerly known as Wagner.

Tebboune, addressing national media on July 19, reaffirmed Algeria’s opposition to foreign mercenaries operating near its 1,400 km border with Mali. Despite strong ties with Moscow, he stressed Algeria’s refusal to tolerate security threats on its frontier.

Mutual accusations have intensified, including claims of drone strikes across the border. The withdrawal of the UN’s MINUSMA mission last year has left a security vacuum in northern Mali that the junta has sought to fill militarily.