Mali: Govt Vows to Take over Rebel Riddled North

Bamako--Mali’s interim government in efforts to assert its authority has vowed to recover the northern territory controlled by rebels who have already declared the region independent.

The attempt comes as the embattled interim government formed after the March 22 coup is striving to save the northern region from exploits of al-Qaeda-linked groups which are destroying world heritage shrines in Timbuktu and planting mines in another city.

Foreign minister Sadio Lamine Sow has said “we will do everything to recover our territory, after he held talks with the Algerian authorities during official two-day tour of the country.

West African leaders are expected to meet on Saturday with Malian leaders to discuss political solutions to restore order in Mali as rebel ravels spoiling to pit the West African state in conflict.

Tuareg rebels and Islamist groups fought together for control of the northern territory they want independent but have since fallen out. Since last week the two groups have engaged in heavy clashes in towns in the north, leading to the Islamists pushing the Tuaregs from all their positions.

In Gao town Islamist fighters have planted anti-personnel mines around the town, intended to stop potential attacks from Tuareg rebels. Elsewhere in Timbuktu, the Ansar Dine rebels continued to destroy century old mausoleums of Islamic saints revered by Sufi Muslims which they regarded as idolatrous.

The group has vowed to destroy all the tombs and so far has destroyed seven, attracting wide condemnation locally and abroad.

The UN cultural agency, Unesco which on Tuesday called for an end of the “repugnant acts” of destruction has sent a team to assess the damage. The UN body wants an emergency fund for securing the cultural treasures created.

The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has said destructions could amount to a war crime and those responsible could face prosecution.

France says it’s determined to stop the establishment of “international terror bases” in Mali and prevent insurgency in the Islamic Maghreb that threatens peace and security in the region as well as France.

Tripoli, Libya

ICC Staff Held in Libya Released

Four workers of the International Criminal Court detained in Libya last month following visit of Seif al-Islam, son of slain leader Muammar Gaddafi have arrived in Netherlands after release on Monday.

The four including Australian Lawyer Melinda Taylor, Lebanese-born interpreter Helene Assaf and two other ICC male staff had been held in Zintan southwest of the capital, Tripoli, after being accused of smuggling documents and hiding recording devices in Seif al-Islam's prison cell.

The four ICC defence office members had travelled there to help prepare Seif's defence who is facing crime charges at ICC allegedly committed during the 8-month uprising that toppled his father’s regime last year.

The arrest of the ICC officials also put the interim government in an awkward position where it was essentially negotiating a deal between his captors and the outside world.

Their release came on Monday came after ICC President Sang-Hyun Song, travelled to Zintan for the release following weeks of pressure from the international community.

Song told a press conference in the western town that the Hague-based court “has no intention to compromise the national security of Libya”, thanking the Libyan authorities for facilitating release of the four.

Song said that the four will be investigated following return to The Hague and any member found with any misconduct will face appropriate sanctions. The four still face a Libyan court on july 23 to complete a judicial process, which the ICC has agreed to comply with.

It’s not still clear whether they will have to travel back to Libya for the case or be tried in absentia.

Arrest of the ICC team by the Zintan brigade, which has Saif in its custody, has raised concern over challenges the interim authorities face in imposing its power on the militia groups that helped topple the former regime.

Libya heads to the polls this month to vote for legislative assembly that will be tasked to deliver a new constitution and ensure peaceful transition of power to civilian rule within the next 12 months after institution.