Security - Malian Premier Diango Sissoko will on Monday meet with the country's paratroopers, called the 'Red Berets' , in an attempt to resolve Friday's crisis between the regiment and the 'Green Berets' led by Capt. Amadou Sanogo Aya, perpetrator of the 22 March 2012 coup that toppled Amadou Toumani Touré.
Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traoré announced the planned meeting in a televised statement in which he condemned the clashes between the regiments at the military camp of Djikoroni, in Bamako's western district.
Two civilians died in the clashes while 13 were injured, three of them seriously.
Earlier Friday, the Red Berets, an elite unit of the Malian army close to the ousted President, and the Green Berets exchanged gunfire throughout the morning.
The two units have been at daggers drawn since the Red Berets tried 30 April 2012 to regain power, resulting in violent clashes resulting and the deaths of several soldiers, especially among their ranks.
Many paratroopers were arrested, with some of them recently freed on bail, while Capt. Sanogo Aya announced the dissolution of the corps.
However, the Malian Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Dahirou Dembele, recently urged the Red Berets to join other corps to held dislodge the Islamists in northern Mali, pending the reconstitution of their unit.
Pana 10/02/2013