Mali: French-Malian Forces Clash with Rebels In Timbuktu

Bamako--Deadly clashes have erupted in the Malian city of Timbuktu, after government soldiers launched a house to house hunt in search for rebel fighters hiding in the city.

At least three fighters were reportedly killed following besiege by the Malian army on Monday after it was reported that unidentified armed groups had entered a house near the central military headquarters in Timbuktu.

A French fighter jet is said to have bombarded the house where the rebels were hiding, killing the three fighters in the strike. Some Malian soldiers are reported to have been killed, though no official confirmation has been made by the army.

A statement by the French Defence Ministry said that France flew its jets over the prehistoric city to hunt down fighters who were fleeing in the northwest direction. One French soldier was injured during the fighting.

On Sunday the armed rebels engaged the French and Malian troops in a day-long battle after gaining access into the city following a confusion created by a suicide bomber on Saturday.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a local chapter of the global terror ring has claimed responsibility of the suicide attack saying the attack on Timbuktu was led by an Algerian suicide bomber belonging to the Yusuf bin Tashfin brigade, a platoon under the command of  late Abou Zeid, who was killed last month by French forces.

Islamist rebels who once controlled Timbuktu and other key northern cities have since been driven out of territories they controlled for nearly 10 months, until January when French and Malian troops launched a joint operation to reclaim the region.

The lawless north under the Islamists had posed as threat of being the Launchpad of Jihadist activities in the region.

France’s intervention in its former colony came at request by the Malian government to intervene after recent offences by the Islamic rebels intensified.

Islamist groups and Tuareg rebels seized control of the north in march last year, advancing through its towns. The Tuareg rebels want the northern region which they refer to as state of Azawad, be declared independent.

Khartoum, Sudan

President Bashir To Release Political Prisoners

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has said he will release all political prisoners in the country as part of the peace agreement with South Sudan, a move seen to ease tension between the two foe states.

President Bashir said during his address during the opening of a new session on Monday announcing “a decision to free all the political prisoners and renew our commitment to all political powers about dialogue.”

He said the government will hold negotiations with all groups including political parties, as well as rebels.

We confirm we will continue our communication with all political and social powers without excluding anyone, including those who are armed, for a national dialogue which will bring a solution to all the issues," the president said.

The move by President Bashir comes a week after Vice President Ali Osman Taha, made an appeal to opposition parties and rebel groups in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States to join a constitutional dialogue, but all have since rejected the call.

Taha had called on the opposition parties singling out the SPLM-N chairman Malik Agar and his deputy Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu, to take part in writing the new constitution".

The rebel group has since rejected the request and want dialogue under a UN Security resolution.

Earlier the alliance of opposition parties demanded release of several of its members detained for their connection with a conference in Uganda's capital, Kampala, which led to a charter for toppling Bashir's 24-year regime.

Sudan and south Sudan signed a deal last month that would see resume of oil production after more than one year of closure following dispute.

Oil accounts for majority of revenue for the two governments and Lack of the crude which both sides heavily depend on, saw introduction of austerity measures following soaring inflations and shortages of foreign currency in the two neighbour states.

The two sides also agreed in the latest accord to withdraw their troop from the contested border in order to ease tension and hold future discussions on settling the border dispute that had threatened an all-out war between the two nations.

South Kordofan along with Abyei and Blue Nile states along Sudan’s border with the independent south have been gripped in conflict since south’s independence in July 2011. 

Thousands have been displaced in the three regions since the government launched operations to root out the rebels, once allied to the south’s SPLM that now forms the new southern government.