North Mali police, protesters clashes kill 3

At least three people have been killed and scores of others injured in Mali when an anti-government demonstration turned violent as security forces opened fire on protesters.

The banned rally by thousands of young Malians was staged in the northern city of Gao on Tuesday in protest against introducing unselected interim authorities. According to officials, at least 32 people, from both sides, were also wounded in the clashes.

In order to curb the years-long violence in a nation battered by ethnic divisions and al-Qaeda-linked militancy, Bamako is struggling to enforce a year-old controversial peace accord signed by the government, loyalist militias and a coalition of autonomy-minded groups including ethnic Arabs and Tuaregs, known as the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).

In 2012, Tuareg rebel groups seized control of northern Mali, which they call Azawad. However, al-Qaeda-linked militants took control shortly afterward. Then, France's military intervened in Mali, its former colony. Since al-Qaeda's move, the impoverished Mali has been in turmoil. 

Tuareg-led rebels signed a landmark peace deal with the government in June 2015, after Bamako reached a peace accord with loyalist militias in mid-May. The agreement, known as the Algiers Accord, aims to end the hostilities in Mali’s vast northern desert, where Tuareg rebels have launched several uprisings since the 1960s. The area has also been a main sanctuary for militants linked to al-Qaeda.

The peace accord, however, has remained idle as the rebel groups and militants continued to launch sporadic attacks against security forces from desert hideouts.

Introducing new authorities to take charge of five northern administrative regions, which angered the protesters, is part of the peace agreement. The government says new authorities will run the region until elections can be securely held, while they have the same powers as elected officials.

Protesters say introducing the imposed authorities would give power to armed groups and would not benefit local people.

Demonstrators, most of which reportedly armed with knives, set fire to tires and hurled stones at police while they marched toward the police station. Riot police resorted to firing tear gas and later using live rounds to disperse the infuriated crowds.

“The security forces opened fire with heavy weapons and tear gas, it's criminal,” said Oumar Maiga, a member of a youth group that organized the protest.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali was deployed in July 2013 to bring calm. The mission, however, has become a target for attacks since its deployment.

Last week, the United Nations Security Council decided to send 2,500 more peacekeepers to the conflict-ridden country in order to “move to a more proactive and robust posture" in the fight against militancy.

Since 2013, French forces have been present in Mali to purportedly push back militants, who drove the country’s north into chaos in 2012.

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