MALI ARMED MOVEMENT GROUP REJECTS 'TERRORIST' LABEL

Kidal, Mali, 6 Rajab 1434/16 May 2013 (MINA) – Sheikh Awssa, a co-founder of the Islamic Movement of Azawad, an armed group that controls Kidal, said on Wednesday in Kidal, northern Mali, that they are not terrorists.

“We are not terrorists. But Mali would like to describe us as such and get the world to attack us in the name of the war on terrorism,” Awssa said, Al Jazeera quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

There are indications coming out of Mali that government soldiers may be preparing for a major offensive to recapture the few remaining strongholds of the Tuareg fighters in Kidal, one of northern Mali’s three largest cities.

Also Read: CRISTIANO RONALDO DONATE €100,000 TO AFGHAN LAND MINE VICTIMS

Donor funds exceeding of target

Meanwhile, the donors’ conference, held on Wednesday in Brussels, Belgium, was organised by French President Francois Hollande, along with President of the European Commission Barroso and Mali’s interim president Dioncounda Traore.

International delegations from 103 countries attend, including ten heads of state and government.

International donors have pledged more than $4.22bn to help Mali recover after a conflict with al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

The sum exceeds the goals of Mali which had asked donors for $2.57bn for this year and next.

Officials in Mali have come up with a $5.58bn multifaceted plan for what EU officials are calling “a total relaunch of the country”.

Also Read: 18 BLASTS IN DHAKA ON LAST DAY OF 60-HR HARTAL

The plan includes rebuilding government institutions and the military, staging elections in July, holding dialogues with rebels in the north, rebuilding roads and schools, reviving the moribund economy so that people get paid for working, and more.

Large pledges of money by the EU, France, the US, Britain and others brought the West African country over its goal to fill a funding gap in its plan to keep the peace and build infrastructure.(T/P09/E1).

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).