Mali sets up reconciliation commission

The Malian government has set up a commission in a bid to reconcile feuding communities in the country, dpa cited a government statement as saying late Wednesday. The Commission on Dialogue and Reconciliation consists of 33 members, including the chairman and his two deputies, and will have an initial two-year mandate. The commission will engage social and political forces in dialogue, and register human rights violations committed during the ongoing war to rout Islamist insurgents who occupied the country's vast north in 2012. A France-led military operation to oust al-Qaeda-linked rebels from Mali started on January 11, and international human rights organizations have voiced concern that all sides have committed rights abuses against civilians.