The Coordination of Movements for Azawad (CMA), a union of Tuareg and Arab-led rebels which formed the main rebel coalition in northern Mali, officially signed a peace agreement on June 20, 2015. This event completed the series of diplomatic peace talks with the Mali government and the Algiers platform, an alliance of pro-government armed groups. These group of formal fighters were to carry out joint patrols when there was a suicide blast in the Joint Operational Mechanism base in Gao which killed more than 50 people and left more wounded.
The car bombing marks as a significant set back for the Mali peace efforts as the suicide blast occurred in the Joint Operational Mechanism base in Gao, which is considered as one of the best secured locations in northern Mali. It contains multiple UN, French and Malian army checkpoints along main roads. Furthermore, Mali itself is a formal French colony that has struggled with differing levels of instability and Islamist extremists throughout the years. At Mali’s request, France sent thousands of troops after the coup in 2012 to drive out the militants. The UN also established a peacekeeping task to safeguard the government in order to resume the peace process. Due to the recent threats to the peace talks, the UN security council agreed to consider methods to punish those who are hindering the 2015 peace agreement. Council members condemned the Gao attack as “persistent delays threaten the viability of the agreement.”
Following the bombing at Gao, all other activities at Gao’s hospital ceased due to the numerous amount of wounded victims arriving after the attack. A doctor at Gao’s hospital mentioned to the press that “at this point, it’s not the toll of dead and injured that interests me, it’s saving who I can.” The provisional toll currently stands at more than 50 people killed and more than 114 soldiers and formal fighters wounded. The cause of the suicide bombing eventually became clear when an al-Qaeda’s affiliate in North America, AQIM, claimed responsibility for the bombing saying it killed nearly 80 Malian soldiers.
Despite the apparent setback to Mali’s peace efforts, Mali’s foreign minister to the UN has said that the “criminal, cowardly, barbaric attack” will not prevent the long term goal “to promote peace and to act against those who are trying to sabotage the peace process.” People are united in their grief over these recent events that threaten the overall peace to Mali and are determined to defend and protect peace by working together.
