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Mali army colonel defects to growing Tuareg revolt
Sat 1 Sep 2007, 12:12 GMT
By Tiemoko Diallo
BAMAKO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A Malian army colonel has deserted to join a Tuareg rebellion in the desert north, taking with him nearly 60 fighters, army sources said on Saturday. Colonel Assane Fagaga, from the rebel Democratic Alliance which signed a peace deal with the government in July, joined the insurgents on Thursday, the sources said.
Fagaga was supposed to have taken charge of a special military unit in the northern city of Kidal, under the terms of the peace deal.
"We have corroborated the desertion of Fagaga and seven other soldiers, including Captain Naka ag Aria," said a senior military source.
"To these, you must add 50 former Alliance fighters with whom Fagaga was supposed to form a special unit in Kidal."
The revolt against President Amadou Toumani Toure's government is currently led by Ibrahima Bahanga.
Bahanga's men have ambushed three military convoys in the last week in the desolate mountain region bordering Algeria and Niger, taking at least 45 soldiers prisoner and seizing vehicles and ammunition.
Six of the hostages taken in the latest attack on Wednesday were able to escape and rejoin their unit on Friday, the army source said. Nine other captives had been liberated on Wednesday by an army patrol.
The number of people killed by landmines in recent days rose to at least 13 after two civilians were killed on Friday, one in a truck transporting livestock to market and the other in a Toyota pickup, military sources said.
That came after at least 10 civilians were killed on Thursday when their vehicle hit a landmine planted by the Tuareg fighters as they pulled back following their raids in the Tin-Zaouatene border area. A soldier was also killed by another mine.
It was the first use of landmines in the former French colony since a Tuareg uprising in Mali and Niger in the 1990s, which won greater autonomy for the light-skinned nomadic people, who complain they are dominated by black governments in the south.
French state radio RFI reported on Saturday that Lyad Ag Ghaly, who formed a triumvirate with Bahanga and Fagaga during the previous uprising, would start negotiations with the rebels on Saturday to bring the latest violence to an end.
"If negotiations are taking place, then they are not official," said the military source.
Toure has called for a regional conference on security in the Sahel, which is also rife with banditry and contraband.
His counterpart in Niger, Mamadou Tandja, recently sent delegations to Algeria, Libya and Sudan to appeal for support in ending violence by Tuareg gunmen, which his government says is common criminality.
The Rest @ Reuters Africa
Showing posts with label Touareg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Touareg. Show all posts
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Niger Rebels attack Military in Mali
By Tiemoko Diallo
BAMAKO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Suspected Tuareg gunmen seized a military supply convoy in northern Mali, their second attack in two days and the latest sign of a concerted campaign with Tuareg rebels in neighbouring Niger, military sources said on Tuesday.
The ambush by a group of armed men crossing the desert in Toyota pick-ups took place on Monday some 50 km (31 miles) from the town of Tinsawatene, in Mali's desolate northern reaches, the sources said.
Some soldiers were injured and several attackers killed during hours of fighting before the rebels escaped with a supply truck, two Toyota vehicles and some prisoners.
"We do not know the death toll yet but many Toyotas were burned and many of the attackers were killed," said a senior Defence Ministry source.
On Sunday, suspected Tuareg gunmen abducted about 25 Malian soldiers in a remote Saharan town and took them off toward Niger, where the nomadic tribesmen have been waging a campaign for seven months, which has killed more than 45 soldiers.
The mountainous area where Sunday's abduction took place is regarded as a stronghold of Tuareg leader Ibrahima Bahanga, whom Malian authorities accuse of killing a gendarme in an attack in May backed by rebels from the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ).
"We are obliged to work closely with Niger because we believe there are links between the two groups," said the senior defence source.
"When they launch attacks in Niger they seek refuge in Mali, and when they attack in Mali they hide in Niger."
"There are contacts under way between military authorities in Mali and Niger to secure the area," the source added.
Last week, Mali and Niger's security ministers met in the eastern Malian town of Gao and signed a deal allowing each others' security forces to pursue suspected bandits across their common border.
Bahanga, one of the leaders of a Tuareg revolt in the 1990s which won greater autonomy for the light-skinned tribesmen in Mali and Niger, has been disowned by a broader Malian rebel alliance, which signed a deal with President Amadou Toumani Toure in July 2006.
Toure, during a weekend visit to Tripoli, said he had agreed with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to hold a regional summit on security in the Sahel.
Niger President Mamadou Tandja has also appealed for regional support in quelling the uprising, which his government has accused French nuclear power company Areva "rich foreign powers" of supporting.
The company has strongly denied this.
Niger's government said on Tuesday it had demined and reopened the road between the northern uranium mining hub of Arlit and the oasis town of Iferouane, which lies more than 1,000 km (600 miles) from the capital Niamey and has been isolated for more than two months.
A military convoy was able to deliver 60 tonnes of emergency food aid to the settlement, which lies in the heart of the rebel zone and was the scene of its first attack in February. (Additional reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Niamey)
The Rest @ Rueters Africa
BAMAKO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Suspected Tuareg gunmen seized a military supply convoy in northern Mali, their second attack in two days and the latest sign of a concerted campaign with Tuareg rebels in neighbouring Niger, military sources said on Tuesday.
The ambush by a group of armed men crossing the desert in Toyota pick-ups took place on Monday some 50 km (31 miles) from the town of Tinsawatene, in Mali's desolate northern reaches, the sources said.
Some soldiers were injured and several attackers killed during hours of fighting before the rebels escaped with a supply truck, two Toyota vehicles and some prisoners.
"We do not know the death toll yet but many Toyotas were burned and many of the attackers were killed," said a senior Defence Ministry source.
On Sunday, suspected Tuareg gunmen abducted about 25 Malian soldiers in a remote Saharan town and took them off toward Niger, where the nomadic tribesmen have been waging a campaign for seven months, which has killed more than 45 soldiers.
The mountainous area where Sunday's abduction took place is regarded as a stronghold of Tuareg leader Ibrahima Bahanga, whom Malian authorities accuse of killing a gendarme in an attack in May backed by rebels from the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ).
"We are obliged to work closely with Niger because we believe there are links between the two groups," said the senior defence source.
"When they launch attacks in Niger they seek refuge in Mali, and when they attack in Mali they hide in Niger."
"There are contacts under way between military authorities in Mali and Niger to secure the area," the source added.
Last week, Mali and Niger's security ministers met in the eastern Malian town of Gao and signed a deal allowing each others' security forces to pursue suspected bandits across their common border.
Bahanga, one of the leaders of a Tuareg revolt in the 1990s which won greater autonomy for the light-skinned tribesmen in Mali and Niger, has been disowned by a broader Malian rebel alliance, which signed a deal with President Amadou Toumani Toure in July 2006.
Toure, during a weekend visit to Tripoli, said he had agreed with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to hold a regional summit on security in the Sahel.
Niger President Mamadou Tandja has also appealed for regional support in quelling the uprising, which his government has accused French nuclear power company Areva "rich foreign powers" of supporting.
The company has strongly denied this.
Niger's government said on Tuesday it had demined and reopened the road between the northern uranium mining hub of Arlit and the oasis town of Iferouane, which lies more than 1,000 km (600 miles) from the capital Niamey and has been isolated for more than two months.
A military convoy was able to deliver 60 tonnes of emergency food aid to the settlement, which lies in the heart of the rebel zone and was the scene of its first attack in February. (Additional reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Niamey)
The Rest @ Rueters Africa
Monday, August 27, 2007
Gaddafi Sues Niger Papers
Gaddafi sues Niger papers for Tuareg rebel claims
Mon 27 Aug 2007, 19:56 GMT
NIAMEY, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is suing two newspapers in Niger for more than $200,000 each after they suggested his government was supporting Tuareg-led rebels in the north of the country, his lawyer said on Monday.
Souley Oumarou said he had presented the complaint against weekly Le Canard Dechaine and bi-monthly Action for damages of 100 million CFA francs ($208,300) each, which would be donated to Niger's National Hospital in the capital Niamey.
"The complaint has been registered and a hearing set for September 17," Oumarou told Reuters. The seven-month-old uprising by light-skinned Tuareg rebels in desolate, uranium-rich northern deserts of Niger has killed more than 40 government troops and left dozens prisoner.
Gaddafi, who has long been an advocate of Tuareg empowerment and an Islamic state spanning the Sahel, has been called upon by President Tandja to mediate in the conflict. Gaddafi called publicly on the rebels, who are seeking a greater share in uranium mining revenues, to lay down their arms.
In a July 23 article entitled "Gaddafi wants a piece of Niger", Le Canard Dechaine alleged the the Libyan leader was supporting the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ) to provide leverage for claims over 30,000 square km of Niger territory.
Niger President Mamadou Tandja'sovernment says the French nuclear power firm Areva involved in uranium mining in northern Niger, was providing support to the revolt.
The company and the French government has strongly denied this.
Tuareg revolts shook northern Niger and Mali in the 1990s before a series of peace deals handed the nomadic people greater autonomy, but recent months have seen a resurgence in violence.
In Mali, Tuareg gunmen abducted around 20 soldiers at the weekend in a remote Saharan town and took them off towards Niger.
Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure said at the weekend during a visit to Tripoli that he had agreed with Gaddafi to organise a regional summit to discuss security in the Sahel.
Gaddafi has a long history of involvement in civil conflict in West Africa, including a lengthy war with Chad and support for the leader of Sierra Leone's RUF rebel group, Foday Sankoh, who fought a 1991-2002 civil war against the government.
The Rest @ Ghana Web
Mon 27 Aug 2007, 19:56 GMT
NIAMEY, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is suing two newspapers in Niger for more than $200,000 each after they suggested his government was supporting Tuareg-led rebels in the north of the country, his lawyer said on Monday.
Souley Oumarou said he had presented the complaint against weekly Le Canard Dechaine and bi-monthly Action for damages of 100 million CFA francs ($208,300) each, which would be donated to Niger's National Hospital in the capital Niamey.
"The complaint has been registered and a hearing set for September 17," Oumarou told Reuters. The seven-month-old uprising by light-skinned Tuareg rebels in desolate, uranium-rich northern deserts of Niger has killed more than 40 government troops and left dozens prisoner.
Gaddafi, who has long been an advocate of Tuareg empowerment and an Islamic state spanning the Sahel, has been called upon by President Tandja to mediate in the conflict. Gaddafi called publicly on the rebels, who are seeking a greater share in uranium mining revenues, to lay down their arms.
In a July 23 article entitled "Gaddafi wants a piece of Niger", Le Canard Dechaine alleged the the Libyan leader was supporting the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ) to provide leverage for claims over 30,000 square km of Niger territory.
Niger President Mamadou Tandja'sovernment says the French nuclear power firm Areva involved in uranium mining in northern Niger, was providing support to the revolt.
The company and the French government has strongly denied this.
Tuareg revolts shook northern Niger and Mali in the 1990s before a series of peace deals handed the nomadic people greater autonomy, but recent months have seen a resurgence in violence.
In Mali, Tuareg gunmen abducted around 20 soldiers at the weekend in a remote Saharan town and took them off towards Niger.
Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure said at the weekend during a visit to Tripoli that he had agreed with Gaddafi to organise a regional summit to discuss security in the Sahel.
Gaddafi has a long history of involvement in civil conflict in West Africa, including a lengthy war with Chad and support for the leader of Sierra Leone's RUF rebel group, Foday Sankoh, who fought a 1991-2002 civil war against the government.
The Rest @ Ghana Web
Friday, August 24, 2007
Niger and Mali to Cooperate in Guarding their Borders
NIAMEY, 24 August 2007 (IRIN) - In the face of "persistent acts of banditry in the border area", senior government officials from Niger and Mali have agreed to jointly guard their 1,000km of shared border against the movement of drugs, guns and people, and improve coordination in the region.
Niger's Interior Minister, Albade Abouba, and his counterpart in Mali, General Sadio Gassama, reached the agreement on 21 August at a meeting in Gao, northern Mali, at which they reportedly said a 2002 deal between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to create a joint brigade to curb trafficking of light arms, secure borders and distribute humanitarian aid should be revitalised.
The agreement comes at a time when insecurity is spiking in northern Niger. Persistent attacks on army bases, road transport and uranium mining facilities are being claimed by the National Movement for Justice (MNJ), which purports to be a rebel group fighting for development in Niger. The Nigerien government has accused the perpetrators of being bandits and drug smugglers profiting from instability in the remote desert region.
"Noting persistent acts of banditry in the shared border area, the two delegations agree to reinforce the cross-border cooperation between security and defence forces on one hand, and administrative authorities and communities on the other," according to a communiqué released after the meeting, published in newspapers in Niger's capital Niamey on Friday.
"Insecurity linked to banditry and criminality in all its forms that was curbed before is unfortunately a dangerous menace to peace, stability and progress again," Nigerien minister Abouba reportedly said in his opening remarks at the meeting, Le Sahel newspaper in Niamey said.
There have been occasional news reports of links between the Touareg-dominated MNJ in Niger and other Touareg groups in neighbouring Mali and Algeria. During a previous uprising by Touareg in Niger and Mali there were strong links between some wings of the movements, however the violence this year in Niger has not been replicated outside the country.
The meeting on 21 August recommended investment by both governments in the operational capacities of the defence and security forces to improve logistics, communications, and human resources along the border and "intensified cooperation" to track real-time information about threats and movements in the region, the communiqué said.
"The bandits in Niger must be pinpointed in Mali and be tracked just as if they had been found on Niger's territory," Mali's General Gassama was reported to have said.
The Rest @ Irin
Niger's Interior Minister, Albade Abouba, and his counterpart in Mali, General Sadio Gassama, reached the agreement on 21 August at a meeting in Gao, northern Mali, at which they reportedly said a 2002 deal between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to create a joint brigade to curb trafficking of light arms, secure borders and distribute humanitarian aid should be revitalised.
The agreement comes at a time when insecurity is spiking in northern Niger. Persistent attacks on army bases, road transport and uranium mining facilities are being claimed by the National Movement for Justice (MNJ), which purports to be a rebel group fighting for development in Niger. The Nigerien government has accused the perpetrators of being bandits and drug smugglers profiting from instability in the remote desert region.
"Noting persistent acts of banditry in the shared border area, the two delegations agree to reinforce the cross-border cooperation between security and defence forces on one hand, and administrative authorities and communities on the other," according to a communiqué released after the meeting, published in newspapers in Niger's capital Niamey on Friday.
"Insecurity linked to banditry and criminality in all its forms that was curbed before is unfortunately a dangerous menace to peace, stability and progress again," Nigerien minister Abouba reportedly said in his opening remarks at the meeting, Le Sahel newspaper in Niamey said.
There have been occasional news reports of links between the Touareg-dominated MNJ in Niger and other Touareg groups in neighbouring Mali and Algeria. During a previous uprising by Touareg in Niger and Mali there were strong links between some wings of the movements, however the violence this year in Niger has not been replicated outside the country.
The meeting on 21 August recommended investment by both governments in the operational capacities of the defence and security forces to improve logistics, communications, and human resources along the border and "intensified cooperation" to track real-time information about threats and movements in the region, the communiqué said.
"The bandits in Niger must be pinpointed in Mali and be tracked just as if they had been found on Niger's territory," Mali's General Gassama was reported to have said.
The Rest @ Irin
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