Mali Govt Signs Ceasefire Accord with Tuareg rebels

The Malian government has reached a ceasefire agreement with ethnic Tuareg rebels to end nearly one year of sporadic clashes in Mali’s desert northlands. The ceasefire was reached after four days of talks in the Algerian capital, Algiers, between Malian envoys and representatives of the rebel Democratic Alliance for Change. The Tuareg rebels launched an armed resistance last year to demand greater rights for their nomadic community. The talks were mediated by the Algerian government. [PE]