A serious setback for the peace process in Mali

The kidnapping and murder of two French journalists is a serious setback for the peace process in northern Mali and for the French government, as was reported by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) in Göttingen on Sunday. "The case clearly shows that northern Mali is still not safe – even ten months after the beginning of the French military intervention," said the STP's Africa-consultant, Ulrich Delius. "The offenders are able to commit politically motivated murder under the eyes of the French military forces and the UN peacekeepers. This is a setback for the French policy in Mali." The case will also lead to further tensions between France, the Tuareg and the Malian government.

On Saturday, two journalists of the French public radio station "Radio France Internationale" had been kidnapped in the town of Kidal. They were murdered shortly after. On October 25, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said in a television interview, that the situation in Kidal is no longer acceptable. For months, Malian politicians have been demanding full control over the long embattled city which is being controlled by the Tuareg rebels of the MNLA freedom movement – under protection of the French army. Mali's government calls for an immediate disarmament of the MNLA troops who are fighting the Malian army since January 2012. "Following this act of violence, the Malian politicians will be even more determined to ensure that the country's police troops and military forces will be able to guarantee peace and order in Kidal."

There will now be even more problems for France, because – due to the tense security situation – Mali's president Keita is even more determined to stop any efforts for autonomy in the Tuareg regions in the north of the country. The agreement France had been trying to arrange between Mali's government and the Tuareg leaders is now in far distance. "Probably, this was exactly what the criminals had planned: to discredit the MNLA as a possible negotiating partner," said Delius. The two Frenchmen had been kidnapped right in front of the house of an MNLA spokesman, whom they had just interviewed. The offenders managed to demonstrate that the MNLA is unable to keep the situation in Kidal under control.

The increasing number of attacks by Islamists and other cases of political violence in northern Mali will also delay the return of the civil war refugees. 169,700 refugees from northern Mali are still living in neighboring countries – and there are 311,000 IDPs in the south of the country. As long as the situation remains insecure, they will not be able to return to their homeland.