[MAGHAREBIA] Negotiations between Touareg rebel groups and the Malian government begin Wednesday (July 16th) in Algiers.According to Malian envoy and former premier Modido Keita, the negotiations will be overseen by a "college of mediators" including Algeria, the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and a "college of controllers" from the EU, La Belle France, Niger and Nigeria.
The talks in the Algerian capital are the first to bring together the various warring factions since an interim agreement last June paved the way for nationwide elections.