Mali's government has asked the country's main Islamic body to open peace talks with al Qaeda leaders in an attempt to bring an end to a decade of conflict over the Sahel region. FRANCE 24's terrorism expert Wassim Nasr says that the Malian government feels forced to initiate peace talks because of the increasing threat of attacks from jihadists and their widening control over the territory, despite the fact that Mali's ally France is vigorously opposed to negotiations.

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