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| - The Malian army on Thursday returned to Kidal, a former rebel-held town that had become a symbol of the country's strife-torn north, commanders there said. A detachment "has returned to the base in Kidal... Everything has really gone well," one told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The commander said "around 300" Malian troops had entered the town, with an escort of UN peacekeepers. His account was confirmed by a commander there with MINUSMA, the UN operation in Mali. Separatist Touareg rebels captured much of northern Mali, including Kidal, in 2012. The war was then commandeered by jihadists, who extended it to the centre of the country, Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have died in the conflict, which Mali has struggled to contain even with the help of thousands of foreign troops. In 2015, the rebels signed a peace agreement with the government, although the accord was fragile and the issue of Kidal was especially delicate. Deployment of the troops ends a years-long absence, boosting the government at a time when it has opened the door to talks with jihadists. The deployment had been announced on Monday by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. In an interview with French media, he said the army was en route towards the town and was expected to reach it on Friday. sd-lal/siu/ri/pma
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