Thousands of Malians have staged a peaceful protest in the northern city of Gao to condemn the interference of France in Mali’s affairs.

Up to 3,000 protesters attended Thursday’s rally.

The participants accused France of favoring their rivals from the Tuareg ethnic group in the north.

They said French officials are working with the Tuareg to assist them continue their control of the regional capital Kidal.

The protesters also said that they have been excluded from talks to bring peace to the country's north.

"We want France to tell us what they are up to," protester Moussa Boureima Yoro stated.

"We are confused when they say, on the one hand that Kidal is part of Mali, and -- at the same time -- they act as if it doesn't belong to Mali," he added.

Around 4,000 French troops have been deployed to Mali since France launched a war on the Western African country on January 11 under the pretext of halting the advance of fighters who had taken control of northern Mali.

The French-led war in Mali has caused a serious humanitarian crisis in the northern areas of the country and has displaced thousands of people, who now live in deplorable conditions.

On February 1, Amnesty International condemned “serious human rights breaches” including the killing of “three children” in the French war in Mali.

The rights organization said there was “evidence that at least five civilians, including three children, were killed in an airstrike” carried out by French forces against the local fighters.

France’s Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reaffirmed in April that the country would keep 1,000 troops in Mali even after the arrival of over 12,000 UN peacekeepers later this year.

Some political analysts believe that Mali’s abandoned natural resources, including gold and uranium reserves, could be one of the reasons behind the French war.