North Mali police, protesters clashes kill 3

At least three people have been killed and scores of others injuried 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.

SS