Malian rebel alliance signs peace deal with government

BAMAKO (Reuters) - An alliance of Tuareg-led rebels and the Malian government signed a peace deal on Saturday meant to draw a line under a 2012 uprising and allow the authorities to focus on tackling an Islamist militant threat in the country's desert north.

The Algerian-brokered deal, signed by a representative of the rebel Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA), hands greater autonomy to Mali's sparsely populated north in a bid to end a cycle of four uprisings since independence from France in 1960.