The Fearsome Tuareg Uprising in Mali: Less Monolithic than Meets the Eye
Posted: March 31, 2012 Filed under: Mali | Tags: al-Qaeda, Ansar Eddine, AQIM, Bamako, Gao, Iyad Ag Ghali, Kidal, Mali, MNLA, Tuareg Leave a comment
Tuareg rebels stand near a truck in Mali on March 19, 2012. DPA / LANDOV
The allegedly al-Qaeda-linked faction of the Tuareg rebellion in troubled Mali seems more of an opportunistic break than a real extension of the terror group
Somewhere close to the Algerian border a delegation of Tuareg notables hurried through the desert for a summit. It was mid-March and there was dissension among them. One of their own, a renegade desert warrior called Iyad ag Ghali, had just thrown the Tuaregs’ meticulously plotted rebellion against the Malian government into jeopardy. In proclamations appearing on YouTube, ag Ghali’s spokesman had done everything that the committee behind the two-month-old uprising by Tuareg rebels wanted to avoid. “It is our obligation to fight for the application of Shar’ia in Mali,” the spokesman said. The poisonous phrase, seized eagerly by a Malian government smarting from military defeat, undid months of careful political messaging. Now everyone would think the Tuareg were in bed with al-Qaeda. Read the rest of this entry »
Un-Welcoming the Presidents: The Mali Junta Digs In
Posted: March 29, 2012 Filed under: Mali | Tags: Ansar Eddine, AQIM, Bamako, Bamako international, Captain Amadou Sanogo, ECOWAS, Kidal, Mali, military coup, MNLA Leave a commentA contingent of regional leaders turns its plane away as the Mali Junta appears to solidify, learning how to spin and propagandize. But trouble looms
They pumped their fists in the air. “Shame on Africa,” they cried. And then the protesters swarmed across the runway at Bamako international, trampling over the red carpet laid out for visiting dignitaries. With a jet carrying presidents from five West Africa countries inbound, it was an eloquent statement of what many in Mali’s military junta think about international condemnation of their coup — even if the soldiers in charge didn’t explicitly order up the demonstration. Read the rest of this entry »
Mali à l’aise
Posted: March 29, 2012 Filed under: Mali | Tags: Amadou Toumani Toure, Bamako, Captain Amadou Sanogo, CNRDRE, coup, Kati, Mali, MNLA, Tuareg Leave a commentMali’s coup leaders tighten their hold but inspire little confidence
IF ANYONE knows what is happening in Mali, it should be Captain Amadou Sanogo. Sliding forward on the shiny beige sofa into which he has sunk, he insists that things are moving “as I want. Moving as I prepared…allowing me to engage, to start with my processes.” Yet the 40-year-old officer with a sandpaper rasp seems to be putting a brave face on what looks, in fact, like an accidental coup that was almost invited by the government it toppled. Read the rest of this entry »
As the U.S. and al-Qaeda Watch Mali’s Phony Peace, Tension Mounts in Timbuktu
Posted: March 24, 2012 Filed under: Mali | Tags: al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Amadou Toumani Toure, Ansar Eddine, AQIM, Bamako, Captain Amadou Sanogo, Iyad Ag Ghali, Kidal, Mali, military coup, MNLA, Timbuktu Leave a commentSeveral interested parties await the outcome as a once-healthy democracy descends into conflict between military mutineers and their president
Pick-ups packed with soldiers zoomed toward the maize-colored building that houses the State broadcaster as rumors flew of more civil strife in Mali. There was a counter-coup. No, there wasn’t a counter-coup. The leader of the mutiny was dead. No, Capt. Amadou Sanogo would appear in a broadcast momentarily. Read the rest of this entry »
Nomadic rebels now armed to the teeth after fall of Gaddafi
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: Mali | Tags: colonialism, Gaddafi, insurgency, Libya, Mali, Ménaka, MNLA, Qaddafi, Tuareg, weapons Leave a commentTo cries of Allahu akbar and the din of heavy weaponry looted from Colonel Gaddafi’s arsenals, Tuareg rebels rode out of the desert on January 17 to attack the flyblown town of Ménaka in eastern Mali.
The veiled warriors, historically known as the Blue Men because of their distinctive flowing indigo robes and black headscarves, struck at dawn, their armoured column approaching army and National Guard posts, sending the government troops fleeing.
In successive months they waged a lightning brand of desert warfare, striking on multiple fronts and humiliating the Malian Army with a series of defeats. Read the rest of this entry »
