Russia strongly condemns the murder in Mali of the chairman of the Azawad Movement Coordination (KDA) Sidi Brahim Oulda Sidati. This was reported on Thursday, April 15, by the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“S.B.Old Sidati played a significant role in achieving national accord, publicly advocated dialogue between the Tuareg movements with the central government and, as Chairman of the ATC, signed the Algerian Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali,” the message says.
The politician was killed by terrorist forces on April 13 near his home in the city of Bamako, the capital of Mali.
“Moscow resolutely condemns the murder of the popular Tuareg leader, aimed at destabilizing the situation in Mali, and introducing additional discord into the already difficult situation in the country,” the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry expressed the hope that the murder of Sidati will not go unpunished.
“We hope that the dialogue between the KDA and the government in Bamako will continue with a view to a comprehensive peace settlement in Mali,” – follows from the message.
Coordination of the Azawad movements, led by Sidati, an alliance of rebel groups formed in Mali in 2014 during the war in the north of the state. The KDA includes several groups, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, the Supreme Council of Azawad Unity and the Arab Azawad Movement.
In February, 20 United Nations (UN) peacekeepers were injured in shelling at a base in downtown Bamako.
The situation in Mali has been unstable since 2012. Then Tuareg rebels and several Islamist groups captured the north of the country, creating the self-proclaimed Independent State of Azavad. In 2013, France sent troops into Mali, returning the territory to the control of the central authorities of the African republic. Since then, Islamists have used ethnic confrontations to recruit militants.