But the package falls short of the heavy weapons and high-tech equipment sought by the rebels.

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And the UNP, during a ceasefire it brokered from 2002-06, sought an agreement with the rebels that would have given substantial autonomy to the mostly Tamil north and east.

ECONOMIST: Sri Lanka's election

Tuareg rebels, who'd sought independence for decades, took advantage of the power vacuum and seized swaths of land.

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Tessalit is about 200km (125 miles) north of Kidal and is a gateway to the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains, where rebels are believed to have sought refuge after being forced from the main population centres in the north and east of the country.

BBC: Kidal assault: French jets bomb northern Mali

And the problem of the Sierra Leonean rebels, and the Guinean dissidents who have sought sanctuary among them, will remain.

ECONOMIST: Guinea