U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday welcomed the signing of a peace agreement in Mali between the government and Tuareg rebels, who seized most of the country's north last year. The rebels were dislodged from most of the territory they held by Al Qaeda-linked rebels who were later pushed by French forces back by African troops. But the Tuareg rebels retained control of the town of Kidal in the northeast, potentially posing a threat to national elections scheduled for next month as well as the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force set to begin operations July 1. Under Tuesday's agreement, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, or MNLA, and a smaller Tuareg group, the High Council of the Azawad, agreed to allow Malian security forces back into Kidal. "The Secretary-General welcomes the signing of an agreement between the Government of Mali, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad and the High Council for the Unity of Azawad on 18 June in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso," Ban's office said in a statement. "The agreement provides for an immediate ceasefire, paves the way for the holding of presidential elections nationwide and commits the parties to discussing sustainable peace in Mali through an inclusive dialogue that will take place after the election."
