BAMAKO鈥擧opes were raised in Mali on Saturday after the military junta agreed to give up power under a deal with West African bloc ECOWAS in return for amnesty and a lifting of sanctions.
The agreement late Friday boosted prospects that the country鈥檚 de facto partition can be reversed, after Tuareg rebels and Islamist fighters took control of the north in the wake of last month鈥檚 coup.
The deal sets out a path for a return to constitutional rule and elections following the March 22 ouster of President Amadou Toumani Toure, a power grab that sparked African and global condemnation.
The new interim president would be Dioncounda Traore, the parliament speaker, ruling with a transitional government until elections are held.
Traore was on his way back to Bamako Saturday afternoon on a charter flight from Ouagadougou in neighboring Burkina Faso.
Aides said he would now consult with mediator Djibril Bassole, Burkina Faso鈥檚 foreign minister, and coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo, as well as members of civil society, 鈥渢o bring peace to Mali鈥�.
No date has been set for his inauguration, but an aide said 鈥渢his will happen very shortly鈥�.
France, the former colonial ruler, urged all sides 鈥渢o put in place the provisions of the accord without delay, especially those aimed at allowing presidential elections in the best possible timeframe鈥�.
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said relations would be restored once 鈥渢he constitutional authorities are installed鈥�, adding that this 鈥渟hould create the conditions for finding a political solution in the north鈥�.
The deal鈥攖o be supervised by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the international community鈥攃ame after Tuareg rebels unilaterally declared independence in the north on Friday.
Their rebellion has been fuelled by a flood of weapons鈥攁nd the return of hardened fighters鈥攆rom Libya following Moamer Kadhafi鈥檚 downfall.
The declaration of a breakaway state by the Tuaregs鈥� secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) was immediately rejected by the United States, European Union and African states.
The African Union dismissed it as 鈥渘ull and of no value whatsoever鈥�, while the EU and US called for respect for Mali鈥檚 鈥渢erritorial integrity鈥�.
Radical Islamist group Ansar Dine鈥攚hich has exploited the chaos to swoop in and install sharia law in parts of the north鈥攆ought alongside the MNLA, but gave short shrift to their independence plans.
鈥淥ur war is a holy war,鈥� Ansar Dine military chief Omar Hamaha said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a legal war in the name of Islam. We are against rebellions. We are against independence. We are against revolutions, not in the name of Islam.鈥�
The ECOWAS deal raised hopes among Mali citizens.
Ahmed Elkori, a resident of Timbuktu, the fabled desert city recently overrun by rebels, told AFP: 鈥淲e hope this will lead to a solution to the crisis which people in the north are going through.鈥�
ECOWAS chief Alassane Ouattara said sanctions should now be lifted, said Bassole.
On April 2 ECOWAS clamped a total embargo on Mali, a country of 15 million people, closing all borders except for humanitarian aid, denying access to ECOWAS ports, and freezing Malian bank accounts.
Bassole also said President Toure, who has not been seen since the coup, should be able to live where he wants under army protection.
The accord states that the interim president would have 鈥渁 mission to organize a presidential election in the constitutional timeframe of 40 days鈥�.
Given the 鈥渆xceptional circumstances鈥�, this may be delayed, and there would be a political transition until an election could be held, it said.
Algeria meanwhile said it had no news of its seven diplomats kidnapped, reportedly by Ansar Dine, in the northern city of Gao after its fall a week ago. Their families were repatriated in good health on Friday.
Amnesty International has warned that northern Mali鈥攚here 200,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since mid-January鈥攚as on the brink of a 鈥渕ajor humanitarian disaster鈥�.
The three northern towns of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu had suffered looting, abductions and chaos since they were occupied late last week.
鈥淎ll the food and medicine stored by major aid agencies has been looted and most of the aid workers have fled,鈥� said Gaetan Mootoo, Amnesty International鈥檚 researcher on West Africa.
鈥淭he population is at imminent risk of severe food and medical shortages that could lead to many casualties, especially among women and children who are less able to fend for themselves.鈥�
In another development, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of the leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, and several other Islamists arrived in Gao overnight, sources told AFP.
鈥淭hey did not hide their identity,鈥� said a witness, the son of the imam of a Gao mosque. 鈥淭hey said they would do everything to foster agreements between Muslims in northern Mali.鈥�
A Malian security official said Belmokhtar and his group also went to the Algerian consulate, but did not elaborate.