Malians rally for peace in Bamako

Up to 60,000 people gathered Sunday for a peace rally in Mali, which was split in two after Islamists wrested control of the vast desert north following a March coup, an AFP reporter said.

The meeting for “national peace and reconciliation” in the main stadium of the capital Bamako was called by the country’s top Muslim body and drew several politicians including Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra.

In Bamako, the interim authorities who took over from the junta have stood by helplessly as the Islamists have tightened their hold in the north and are now working to form a stronger unity government on the orders of west African mediators.

The ECOWAS west African regional bloc has 3,300 troops ready to deploy in Mali, and the UN Security Council is ready to approve this, but is awaiting a formal request from Bamako as well as more information on the size, means and mandate of the proposed force.