The Tuareg-led rebels in war-torn Mali have rejected the proposed peace terms, but have described the initial draft as a “good basis” to proceed with and have requested that Algeria supply mediators to help them work with the government to improve the terms.

The peace proposal was created over the course of eight months and is designed to bring a permanent state of peace between the government and the Islamic rebels in the area of Mali known as Azawad. The government has already signed the peace terms as they are. The rebels, never a monolithic organization, are mixed in their reaction. While the largest coalition of them has requested the mediation, many smaller and splinter groups have accepted the proposals.

The Coordination for the Movements of Azawad (CMA) have expressed a desire to continue the negotiation process to resolve a conflict that has plagued Mali since it gained independence in 1960. Natives of the Azawad desert have claimed ever since that they are an independent nation and that Mali has no right to their territory.

Rebel representatives who participated in the negotiations were positive about the peace terms, but the rebels actually in arms on the ground did not react in the positive way that was expected. The backlash seems to have taken the rebel leadership by surprise. Just three years ago a jihadist group took country of Northern Mali and imposed Sharia Law on the region, and the French military was needed to force them out.