Mali Interim Government Considers Talks With Islamist Militants
- Mali has struggled to quash an eight-year Islamist insurgency
- French leader has said talks with terrorists aren’t an option
A French soldier inside a military helicopter during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Mali in 2017.
Photographer: Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA/AP Images
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Mali is considering talks with militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in an apparent departure from the stance of France, its main partner in the fight against jihadists.
“Talks with these groups are in line with the will of the Malian people,” Moctar Ouane, the transitional government’s prime minister, told Paris-based broadcaster France 24 in an interview aired Thursday. Dialogue “complements the military operation and should be seen as an opportunity,” Ouane said. Al-Qaeda’s top commander in Mali, Iyad Ag Ghali, could be included in talks, he said.