A cease-fire agreed between the government and three rebel groups in northern Mali seems to be holding, the United Nations reported Tuesday, warning however that recent deadly violence in the city of Kidal has displaced about 4,000 people who now need food, water, and other necessities. U.N. spokesman Stephane Djuarric said in New York City that the truce was signed Friday between the Malian government and groups involved in fighting in Kidal after a mediation led by the U.N. secretary-general's special representative in Mali, Albert Koenders, and the president of Mauritania and current chairman of the African Union, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. Meanwhile, the United Nations and its partner agencies reported that they have begun redeploying their staff and aid supplies to northern Mali. Kidal airport now has reopened, with nine World Food Program (WFP) trucks carrying 194 tons of food also en route to the region. David Gressly, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Mali, said the cease-fire would allow for more humanitarian workers to return to Kidal, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
