Magharebia

Touareg leaders from the Mali regions that border Algeria, Mauritania and Niger gathered in Kidal on Tuesday (November 3rd) to discuss the threat from al-Qaeda-linked armed groups, El Khabar reported. The meeting, reportedly arranged by the Mali government a fortnight ago, seeks to involve tribal notables from Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu in the fight against arms trafficking.

To persuade individuals to surrender their weapons, Algeria, England, Canada and the US are helping fund an incentive programme, Some 10,000 people will benefit from development, employment, vocational training and social inclusion projects in the region.

"Many people living along the Algeria and Mali border feel safer when they have a weapon," El Khabar quoted the Kidal regional governor as saying. "The withdrawal of 10 thousand pieces of weapons distributed in northern Mali is a first step to counteract the extent of organised crime and terrorist groups."