Bamako, 17 Feb-(ANA)-Hundreds of former Tuareg rebels have surrendered their arms in a ceremony in Mali to mark their official return to the peace process.
Some 700 rebels, who can now join the regular army, were at the airport event in the north-eastern town of Kidal.
Fighters from a group led by key rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga participated in the ceremony.
But Mr Bahanga, an opponent of the 2006 Algiers peace deal, was not present - he has fled the country.
Mali's Territorial Administration Minister Gen Kafougouna Kone attended, as did Algeria's ambassador to Mali, who has been the chief negotiator in the peace process.
The indigenous, nomadic Tuareg have been fighting for a greater political role and more economic development in their desert region.
Mali's government has promised to invest in areas inhabited by the Tuareg nomads if they give up their demands for regional autonomy.
The military launched an offensive in early January against the insurgents in the north-east of the country.
Earlier this month Mali said its army had taken control of all the bases of Mr Bahanga's rebel group.
The defence ministry also said Mr Bahanga had fled, but his rebel group denied the claims.
Hundreds of Mr Bahanga's followers had reportedly joined other Tuareg rebel factions, which recently returned to the peace talks.
The Tuaregs, a historically nomadic people living in the Sahara and Sahel regions of North Africa, have had militant groups in Mali and Niger engaged in sporadic armed struggles for several decades. (ANA)
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