Mali peace accord needs further rebel buy-in

Significance

The clashes come shortly after the government on May 15 signed a new agreement -- the Algiers Accord -- with northern armed groups. The major Tuareg rebel groups allied under the name of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) did not sign it. President Ibraham Boubacar Keita (IBK) and the mediation have said that the accord will remain open for non-signatories to join, but their visions for northern Mali's future are vastly different.

Impacts

• Attacks on MINUSMA and French troops will continue where they are regarded as threatening to the influence of local groups.
• Those groups with little representation in Algiers, or more radical self-proclaimed Islamist groups, will continue to use violence.
• Presidential and parliamentary elections -- last held in 2013 after the 2012 coup -- are unlikely to be held before 2018.