The Malian forces in the northern town of Kidal say they have come under intense gun fire from the separate Tuareg rebels group for the second time in the town.

The former Malian interim government before the election reached a peace accord with the Tuareg rebels and the rebels allowed Malian forces to enter their stronghold town of Kidal.

But the group on Saturday announced that they are pulling out of the agreement accusing the new Malian government of failing to respect the peace pact they signed in June this year.

Local reporters in Kidal reported that the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) also known as the Tuareg rebels traded fire with Malian forces early on Sunday and late Monday evening.

An unnamed Malian soldier told the Agence France Presse that the MNLA had attacked government troops who were guarding a bank in the town.

“Our position at the bank in Kidal was attacked early this morning by MNLA troops and we also responded, but they still attacking us’’, the officer told the AFP News Agency in Kidal.

These latest attacks were preceded by a suicide car bomb near an army camp in the northern town of Timbuktu on Saturday in which the two attackers and at least two civilians were reportedly killed in the attack. On Friday too, two Malian soldiers were wounded in Kidal when a grenade was thrown at them.

But President Ibrahim, Boubacar Keita said late on Monday that the government remained committed to the peace process, which calls for the opening of talks on greater autonomy for the north within two months when the new Cabinet takes office.

“The government will relentlessly pursue the fight against terrorism, organized crime and residual banditry. To this end, the security and defense forces will fully play their role to make sure that the agreement we signed is respected”, the government said in a statement signed by the president.

There was no casualties recorded in the clash but it is the latest in a spate of violent incidents in recent times.

The peace deal signed in between the government and the Tuareg rebels permitted elections to take place and Malian forces entering rebels’ stronghold of Kidal.

But President Keita has pledged to reunite the country following a series of instabilities that necessitated French intervention to restore democracy in the country.

Analysts say there are concerns that the country might slip back to instability despite the presence of UN peacekeeping troops who are still in the country to protect civilians.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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