A precarious peace...

‘Le Mali est de retour. Oui, avec l'appui des pays amis, le Mali est debout, et  tourne la page la plus sombre de son histoire.’

‘Mali is back again. Yes, with the support of friendly nations, Mali has once more arisen and turned the darkest page of her history’.

Such were the words of President IBK when he addressed the United Nations in New York today.

But at the same time, there was a grenade attack today at Kidal on the Malian army soldiers who guard the bank. Two soldiers hurt. And the MNLA has just announced it no longer wants to negotiate with the Mali government, which had been the plan according to the Ouagadougou agreement of ceasefire which allowed to elections to go ahead in the entire Malian territory. For the MNLA there will be nothing apart from an independent Azawad. For Mali there is nothing apart from a Mali with its borders and integrity intact. So, what will happen now? I am flying back to a Mali not far from continued conflict...