The Malian justice minister says the government has freed 23 rebel prisoners under terms of a June ceasefire agreement in a bid to revive a troubled peace process.

"Putting into practice the Ouagadougou accord, we have signed the decision to liberate 23 people," Justice Minister Mohamed Ali Bathily said on Wednesday at a ceremony in the capital Bamako.

"With the aim of bringing peace, we have released these prisoners," Bathily said. "They will not be pursued for crimes against humanity or war crimes."

A renewed fighting has erupted between Malian troops and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Kidal in the north since the rebel Tuareg group abandoned the ceasefire last week.

"Following multiple difficulties in implementing the Ouagadougou accord, caused notably by the Mali government's failure to respect its commitments," the Tuareg and Arab rebel groups "decided to suspend participation in the structures created by the said accord," the rebels said in a joint statement issued on September 26.

Tuareg rebels, who are fighting to gain autonomy in the northern region of the West African country, signed a ceasefire deal with the government in Ouagadougou, the capital of neighboring Burkina Faso.

The truce accord was mediated by regional African powers, the United Nations and the European Union.

France launched a war in Mali on January 11 under the pretext of halting the advance of rebel fighters in the country.

On February 1, Amnesty International said “serious human rights breaches” -- including the killing of children -- were occurring in the French war in Mali.

Chaos broke out in the West African country after Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure was toppled in a military coup on March 22, 2012. The coup leaders said they mounted the coup in response to the government's inability to contain the Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country, which had been going on for two months.

However, in the wake of the coup d’état, the Tuareg rebels took control of the entire northern desert region, but the Ansar Dine extremists then pushed them aside and took control of the region, which is larger than France or Texas.