Ansar Dine softens stance on sharia law
Thursday 15 November 2012
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EmailIslamists in northern Mali have offered minor concessions on Sharia law in a bid to head off military intervention in the region.
Ansar Dine has indicated it no longer wants to impose its harsh version of Islamic law across the whole of the country, just in the north.
Al-Qaida-linked foreign fighters flooded into Mali in April and seized control of the north.
Ansar Dine is seen as the more moderate of three groups in the region as its fighters are largely indigenous Tuaregs.
The concessions come shortly after the African Union approved plans to send a coalition of African troops to retake the region.
The 3,300-strong force is expected to get UN security council approval early December.
Ansar Dine has called on the other militants to join talks with Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, who is acting as mediator.
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