Mali, Tuareg-led rebels agree to cease hostilities for peace talks

Fighters from the Tuareg separatist rebel group MNLA take shade under a tree in the desert near Tabankort, February 13, 2015. REUTERS/Souleymane Ag Anara

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Mali's government and Tuareg-led rebels have agreed to cease hostilities as a way to ease tensions while they hold U.N.-sponsored peace negotiations, Algeria's government said on Thursday. The talks hosted by Algiers, the fifth round of recent negotiations, aim to end decades of uprisings in the north to win a form of self-rule and more rights from the southern government in Bamako. (Reporting by Patrick Markey; Editing by Angus MacSwan)