Mali asks Islamic High Council to dialogue with al-Qaida

By BABA AHMED
Associated Press

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s government has asked the country’s Islamic High Council to begin a dialogue with al-Qaida-linked groups in a new effort to address a nearly decade-long insecurity crisis. It is not clear when the dialogue will begin, but the council says it will lead discussions with Malian jihadist leaders Iyad Ag Ghaly and Amadou Kouffa of the al-Qaida-linked group known as JNIM. The spokesman for the council tells The Associated Press that he was asked by the government last week to launch discussions. He says they are working with their representatives in the country’s north.