Rebels in northern Mali signed a peace agreement with the Malian government, resolving a stumbling block to the West African country's reconstruction, UPI reported. The peace accord calls for the deployment of the army to Kidal, a Saharan outpost near the Algerian border held by the ethnic Tuareg group. It follows an intervention by the French military in early 2013 that help swing the momentum in the fighting back to the government forces, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The accord, signed Tuesday in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, clears the way for national elections in Mali, a point donors of international promised aid have demanded, the newspaper said. The U.S. State Department, in a statement Wednesday, welcomed the agreement and congratulated the rebels, the government, the African Union and United Nations representatives who brought to accord to fruition.
