May 23, 2006 Democratic Alliance for Change
Encyclopedia
The May 23, 2006 Democratic Alliance for Change (ADC) (fr. Alliance Démocratique du 23 mai pour le Changement) is a Malian
Tuareg rebel group, formed in 2006 by ex-combatants from the 1990s Tuareg insurgency in Mali. In 2007, splinters of the organisation returned to combat in northern Mali, launching the Malian element of the 2007 Tuareg insurgency
. Led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, this ADC faction continued to operate under that name, despite most elements remaining under ceasefire. In July 2008, most of these elements, along with much of the splinter following Ag Bahanga reached another accord with the Malian government in Algiers
. Ag Bahanga and a faction of that group rejected the accord and fled to Libya. At the end of 2008. this faction returned to fighting, operating under the name Alliance Touaregue Nord Mali Pour Le Changement (ATNMC). The government of Mali has contended since 2007 that the Ag Bahanga faction of the ADC is a "band of marginals" who were "isolated from the heart of the Tuareg community", primarily motivated by lucrative Trans-Saharan smuggling operations operating from Ag Bahanga's home town of Tin-Zaouatene. Ag Bahanga and the other leaders of his faction contend that the government of Mali oppresses the Tuareg population of the north, and has repeatedly failed to live up to its agreements with the ADC and other groups. Outside observers have also speculated that internal rivalries between Taureg from the Kel Adagh
(around Kidal) and the Ouilliminden confederations have frustrated peace attempts.
and Kidal in northeastern Mali, claiming that the agreements ending the previous conflict in 1995 had not been met by the government of Mali. Its leadership was drawn from the then defunct Mouvement Populaire de l'Azawad which was formally disbanded in 1996. The Secretary General was former MPA founder Iyad Ag Ghali, although operations were directed by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, who himself had fought with the MPA. The group was based in the Adrar des Ifoghas
mountains, and launched attacks near the city of Kidal and south into the Gao Region
.
In July 2006, the ADC signed a peace agreement with the Malian government much along the lines of the previous agreement. Negotiated with the help of the Algerian government, the "Algiers Accord" stipulated fighters would be integrated into the Malian army, that Tuareg units would patrol Tuareg areas in the north, and that greater development projects would be perused in the Tuareg majority Kidal Region
.
, offered to mediate. At the same time, Hama Ag Sidahmed, speaking for the same group announced the creation of a Niger-Mali Tuareg alliance (the Alliance-Touareg-Niger-Mali por Changement, ATNMC), though this was denied by another group, claiming to represent the ADC. Perhaps as importantly, the Nigerien rebels of the MNJ denied any confederation.
The Malian government claimed that Ag Bahanga been given an officers commission in a Tuareg unit of the Malian army after the 2006 rising, but had deserted early in the summer of 2007, and claimed that his rebel forces are involved in organized crime and drug smuggling. Public and government in Mali appeared shocked by the level of violence in the north of Kidal, Ménaka
and the Sahel region
, as well as by the effectiveness of the rebel force, and nationalist feeling ran high against the Ag Bahanga in particular among much of the Malian press and public.
From 9 to 18 September 2007, Ag Bahanga's forces besieged the northern town of Tin-Zaouatene, withdrawing after reinforcements arrived. As fighting subsided between late 2007 an early 2008, the Ag Bahanga faction of the ADC ceased to issue communiques under the ADC name, and in May 2008 began to release them under the name Alliance Touareg Nord Mali pour le Changement (ATNMC), notably dropping the "Niger" from the previous name, but keeping the acronym.
, a regional rival of the Libyans, and home to a substantial Tuareg population. In March, Muammar Gaddafi
of Libya negotiated the release of Malian army prisoners held by the rebels, and sporadic talks were held with Libyan mediation. Malian armed forces remained in control of all the major settlements, but Malian rebels staged a series of raids, the largest taking place at the end of March. Rebel forces attacked a convoy near Abeibara
in the east, killing 7 and capturing 20 soldiers and four military vehicles. A 4 April ceasefire and prisoner exchange was negotiated again through Libya, but each side accused the others of failing to end hostilities, and more sporadic attacks on Army positions occurred in May.
In early June, rebels killed 25 soldiers in an attack on a Kidal base, and in late June the Malian Army killed 20 rebels near the Algerian border, which the Army said was a major rebel base. But just days later, President Amadou Toumani Toure
said he remained open to negotiations with the Tuareg rebels, while at the same time agreeing joint security with Algeria.
At Tessalit
on 18 July rebels overran a military post, taking 20 prisoners as well as supplies. Two days later a peace deal was announced, revealing that Algeria had been hosting talks between the government of Mali and the leadership of the "Alliance démocratique du 23 mai".
The Algerian ambassador to Mali, Abdelkrim Ghrieb, had negotiated the deal, between Amada Ag Bibi (now a Deputy in the Malian National Assembly) for the rebels and General Kafougouna Koné, Malian Minister of the Interior, for the Malian government. 92 prisoners held by the rebels would be released, amnesties were promised for rebels, and re-integration into the military (along the lines of the 2006 deal) were promised for Tuareg fighters. This agreement held throughout 2008, and by the end of the year the Malian conflict was seen as resolved.
This was also a success for Algeria as a regional power, and rival of the Libyan government for influence in the Sahara. Throughout the process, the Malian government, as well as Tuareg leaders on both sides of the conflict public ally pushed for a negotiated settlement, in contrast with the Nigerien conflict. Cherif Ouazani was quoted in Algeria as describing the talks as "Malians talking to Malians" While the last of the rebel held prisoners were released in August, and the ceasefire held as of the end of that month, there continued to be speculation on the role played by presumed Mai 23 leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, who has not participated in the Algerian sponsored tripartate talks. Press speculation has posed a split in the already fractured movement, in which Toureg groups loyal to the Kel Adagh
fully participated in the eventual peace process, which seemed to have resolved the conflict since August 2008. Meanwhile a smaller group around Ag Bahanga had been holding out for Libyan sponsored mediation, and eventually abandoned the talks and sought refuge in Libya.
: he and the Alliance Touaregue Nord Mali Pour Le Changement (ATNMC) faction took credit in communiques for a series of attacks in northern Mali beginning on 18 December. They attacked a desert garrison post at Nampala 500 km north of Bamako near the Mauritanian
border. Between 11 and 20 Malian Armed Forces soldiers were killed and an unknown number of rebels. This made it the bloodiest fighting since June 2007. The attack was prefaced by a the killing of an aide to a pro-government Tuareg leader in Gao
on the 18th, in a grenade attack on the politician's home.
The ATNMC released communiques claiming their patrols had, on 24 and 25 December destroyed two Army vehicles far south into the populated regions of Mali, on the Kati
-Diéma
-Nioro
road and the Ségou
to Tombouctou
road. There was no government confirmation of these attacks.
Regardless, the attack on Nampala pushed the fighting far to the south. The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure
vowed harsh action in a speech at Kayes
: "Enough is enough. We cannot continue to suffer, we cannot keep counting our dead... We cannot keep searching for peace... They are firing on anything that moves. They are firing on soldiers, they're firing on civilians, what does all this mean?" He claimed that while Nampala had no strategic importance, it was "close to the different routes and paths that take drugs across the Sahara-Sahel strip". This was a reiteration of the government contention that elements of the rebels were motivated not by political motives, but were involved in the lucrative Saharan smuggling trade, and that the rebel's desire to have the town of Tin-Zaouatene evacuated of troops was cover for their smuggling operations.
, Kidal Region
) in which it said it killed 20 fighters and took 8 prisoners. Malian press reports claimed that the Malian forces were led by Arab militias recruited by the government. One editorial in Le Republican (Bamako) argued that this, along with the growing resurgence of former Ghanda Koy militia activities in Gao risked adding a greater ethnic dimension to the conflict.
On 22 January, the Malian armed forces claimed to have destroyed Ag Bahanga's main base at Tinsalak (in the Tigharghar hills to the east of Tessalit
), killing 31 and capturing 8. The attack, unlike the previous assault, was reported to have been carried out by regular units of the armed forces. In mid December, Ag Bahanga gave an interview to the Algerian El-Watan newspaper claiming that war was now his only option in dealing with the government. On 24 January though May 23rd ADC Group rebels released the last three Malian military hostages they were holding in the Kidal area. In this same period, a group of foreign tourists were seized in southeastern Mali by unknown captors. Ag Bahanga denied any involvement. In a previous interview with the Algerian media, Ag Bahanga claimed Islamist GSPC
militants were active "north of Timbuktu" (to the west of his area of operation), and that his forces were "in a state of war" with the GSPC. Some Malian sources initially blamed the kidnapping on Ag Bahanga's forces.
January 2009 also appeared to also have marked the final break between Ag Bahanga's faction and the remainder of the ADC. According to the 2006 and 2008 Algiers Accords, the ADC elements on cease fire were headquartered in Kidal, both the political leadership, and the former fighters integrated in the their own units of the Malian Armed forces. In Mid January, the former Ag Bahanga faction military commander, Lt. Col. Hassane Fagaga, returned to ceasefire and cantonment near Kidal. According to the Malian military, Fagaga came into cantonment with 400 ADC fighters. On 26 January, Fagaga and the remained of the cease-fire ADC announced that they would transfer their headquarters and bases south of Kidal. On 5 February, the Malian Armed forces concluded negotiations for 180 of the ADC fighters, all former Malian Armed Forces deserters, to re-enter the cantonment area at Camp Kidal. These fighters maintained control of their arms. The government, rebels and Algerian interlocutors held off on a final agreement that would bring the remaining 220 or more rebels into cantonment. The tripartite Groupe Technique de Sécurité, set up under the 2008 accord, would negotiate the movement of rebel forces into disarmament, possible reintegration into security services, and final cantonment at a base near Agharous, 50 km south of Kidal.
If all these ADC forces remain on ceasefire, it is unclear how many fighters remain with Ag Bahanga and his ATNMC faction, especially as the faction itself claimed in late 2007 to have no more than 165 men under arms. On 6 February, the Malian Armed Forces claimed they had taken the last of the ATNMC positions, while Ag Bahanga and an unknown number of fighters had crossed the border into Algeria.
Malian
Malian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Mali, a country in West Africa.* A person from Mali or of Malian descent. For information about the Malian people, see Demographics of Mali and Culture of Mali. For specific persons, see List of Malians....
Tuareg rebel group, formed in 2006 by ex-combatants from the 1990s Tuareg insurgency in Mali. In 2007, splinters of the organisation returned to combat in northern Mali, launching the Malian element of the 2007 Tuareg insurgency
Tuareg Rebellion (2007–present)
The Tuareg Rebellion of 2007-2009 was an insurgency that began in February 2007 amongst elements of the Tuareg people living in the Sahara desert regions of northern Mali and Niger. It is only the most recent of a series of insurgencies by formerly nomadic Tuareg populations, which had last...
. Led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, this ADC faction continued to operate under that name, despite most elements remaining under ceasefire. In July 2008, most of these elements, along with much of the splinter following Ag Bahanga reached another accord with the Malian government in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. Ag Bahanga and a faction of that group rejected the accord and fled to Libya. At the end of 2008. this faction returned to fighting, operating under the name Alliance Touaregue Nord Mali Pour Le Changement (ATNMC). The government of Mali has contended since 2007 that the Ag Bahanga faction of the ADC is a "band of marginals" who were "isolated from the heart of the Tuareg community", primarily motivated by lucrative Trans-Saharan smuggling operations operating from Ag Bahanga's home town of Tin-Zaouatene. Ag Bahanga and the other leaders of his faction contend that the government of Mali oppresses the Tuareg population of the north, and has repeatedly failed to live up to its agreements with the ADC and other groups. Outside observers have also speculated that internal rivalries between Taureg from the Kel Adagh
Kel Adagh
The Kel Adagh are a Toureg confederation of clans living in the region of the Adrar des Iforas highlands in Mali. The name comes from Tamasheq "Kel" and "Adagh"...
(around Kidal) and the Ouilliminden confederations have frustrated peace attempts.
May–June 2006 rising
On 23 May 2006, it launched attacks on the towns of MénakaMénaka
Ménaka is a rural commune and town in Menaka Cercle, Gao Region, in the far east of Mali. It is the local government seat and largest town in the Cercle, and one of four rural communes...
and Kidal in northeastern Mali, claiming that the agreements ending the previous conflict in 1995 had not been met by the government of Mali. Its leadership was drawn from the then defunct Mouvement Populaire de l'Azawad which was formally disbanded in 1996. The Secretary General was former MPA founder Iyad Ag Ghali, although operations were directed by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, who himself had fought with the MPA. The group was based in the Adrar des Ifoghas
Adrar des Ifoghas
The Adrar des Ifoghas is a sandstone massif in Mali's Kidal Region, having an area of about 250,000 km².The area is characterized by wide, shallow valleys, and is strewn with piles of eroded granite blocks...
mountains, and launched attacks near the city of Kidal and south into the Gao Region
Gao Region
The Gao Region is located in eastern Mali. The region's capital city is Gao. Gao Region is bordered to the south and east by Niger, to the north by Kidal Region, and to the west by Tombouctou Region. Common ethnicities in the Gao Region include the Songhai, Bozo, Tuareg, Bambara, and Kounta...
.
In July 2006, the ADC signed a peace agreement with the Malian government much along the lines of the previous agreement. Negotiated with the help of the Algerian government, the "Algiers Accord" stipulated fighters would be integrated into the Malian army, that Tuareg units would patrol Tuareg areas in the north, and that greater development projects would be perused in the Tuareg majority Kidal Region
Kidal Region
Kidal is the eighth administrative region of Mali, covering 151,430 km². Its capital is the city of Kidal.-Geography:The region is bordered on the west by Tomboctou Region, to the south by Gao Region, to the east by Niger and to the north by Algeria....
.
In 2007 Tuareg insurgency
In August 2007 the group reappeared under the military command of a former rebel who had been integrated into the Malian Armed Forces in 1996 and 2006, Lt. Col. Hassan Ag Fagaga. Ibrahim Ag Bahanga was the overall commander of this new ADC faction, while former MPA rebel (and Ag Bahanga's father in law) Hama Ag Sidahmed was spokesperson. In October of that year the group claimed to have 165 men under arms. The group used the ADC name, but former leaders Iyad Ag Ghali and Ahmada Ag Bibi denounced its attacks, and only some elements of the former ADC participated in attacks. The Ag Bahanga led rebles announced on August 31 that they would negotiate with the government, and intermediaries from former Tuareg rebels headed by Lyad Ag Ghaly, as well as Libyan leader Muammar al-GaddafiMuammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, offered to mediate. At the same time, Hama Ag Sidahmed, speaking for the same group announced the creation of a Niger-Mali Tuareg alliance (the Alliance-Touareg-Niger-Mali por Changement, ATNMC), though this was denied by another group, claiming to represent the ADC. Perhaps as importantly, the Nigerien rebels of the MNJ denied any confederation.
The Malian government claimed that Ag Bahanga been given an officers commission in a Tuareg unit of the Malian army after the 2006 rising, but had deserted early in the summer of 2007, and claimed that his rebel forces are involved in organized crime and drug smuggling. Public and government in Mali appeared shocked by the level of violence in the north of Kidal, Ménaka
Ménaka
Ménaka is a rural commune and town in Menaka Cercle, Gao Region, in the far east of Mali. It is the local government seat and largest town in the Cercle, and one of four rural communes...
and the Sahel region
Sahel Region
Sahel is one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions. It was created on 2 July 2001 and had a population of 808,928 in 2006. The region's capital is Dori. Four provinces make up the region - Oudalan, Séno, Soum, and Yagha....
, as well as by the effectiveness of the rebel force, and nationalist feeling ran high against the Ag Bahanga in particular among much of the Malian press and public.
From 9 to 18 September 2007, Ag Bahanga's forces besieged the northern town of Tin-Zaouatene, withdrawing after reinforcements arrived. As fighting subsided between late 2007 an early 2008, the Ag Bahanga faction of the ADC ceased to issue communiques under the ADC name, and in May 2008 began to release them under the name Alliance Touareg Nord Mali pour le Changement (ATNMC), notably dropping the "Niger" from the previous name, but keeping the acronym.
2007 negotiations
Iyad Ag Ghaly, acting as a mediator for the Malian government began peace negotiations with the ADC factions, assuring that those on cease fire remained so, and attempting to bring Ag Bahanga to a deal. Negotiations first took place with the help of the Libyan government, but also with AlgeriaAlgeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, a regional rival of the Libyans, and home to a substantial Tuareg population. In March, Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
of Libya negotiated the release of Malian army prisoners held by the rebels, and sporadic talks were held with Libyan mediation. Malian armed forces remained in control of all the major settlements, but Malian rebels staged a series of raids, the largest taking place at the end of March. Rebel forces attacked a convoy near Abeibara
Abeïbara
Abeïbara is a small desert town and commune and capital of the Abeïbara Cercle in the Kidal Region of north-eastern Mali. As of 1998 the commune had a total population of 2,187....
in the east, killing 7 and capturing 20 soldiers and four military vehicles. A 4 April ceasefire and prisoner exchange was negotiated again through Libya, but each side accused the others of failing to end hostilities, and more sporadic attacks on Army positions occurred in May.
In early June, rebels killed 25 soldiers in an attack on a Kidal base, and in late June the Malian Army killed 20 rebels near the Algerian border, which the Army said was a major rebel base. But just days later, President Amadou Toumani Toure
Amadou Toumani Touré
Amadou Toumani Touré is the president of Mali. He overthrew a military ruler, Moussa Traoré in 1991, then handed power to civilian authorities the next year...
said he remained open to negotiations with the Tuareg rebels, while at the same time agreeing joint security with Algeria.
At Tessalit
Tessalit
Tessalit is a city in Mali's Kidal Region. The town is both a Commune and the capital of Tessalit Cercle . As of 1998 the commune had a total population of 2,533....
on 18 July rebels overran a military post, taking 20 prisoners as well as supplies. Two days later a peace deal was announced, revealing that Algeria had been hosting talks between the government of Mali and the leadership of the "Alliance démocratique du 23 mai".
The Algerian ambassador to Mali, Abdelkrim Ghrieb, had negotiated the deal, between Amada Ag Bibi (now a Deputy in the Malian National Assembly) for the rebels and General Kafougouna Koné, Malian Minister of the Interior, for the Malian government. 92 prisoners held by the rebels would be released, amnesties were promised for rebels, and re-integration into the military (along the lines of the 2006 deal) were promised for Tuareg fighters. This agreement held throughout 2008, and by the end of the year the Malian conflict was seen as resolved.
This was also a success for Algeria as a regional power, and rival of the Libyan government for influence in the Sahara. Throughout the process, the Malian government, as well as Tuareg leaders on both sides of the conflict public ally pushed for a negotiated settlement, in contrast with the Nigerien conflict. Cherif Ouazani was quoted in Algeria as describing the talks as "Malians talking to Malians" While the last of the rebel held prisoners were released in August, and the ceasefire held as of the end of that month, there continued to be speculation on the role played by presumed Mai 23 leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, who has not participated in the Algerian sponsored tripartate talks. Press speculation has posed a split in the already fractured movement, in which Toureg groups loyal to the Kel Adagh
Kel Adagh
The Kel Adagh are a Toureg confederation of clans living in the region of the Adrar des Iforas highlands in Mali. The name comes from Tamasheq "Kel" and "Adagh"...
fully participated in the eventual peace process, which seemed to have resolved the conflict since August 2008. Meanwhile a smaller group around Ag Bahanga had been holding out for Libyan sponsored mediation, and eventually abandoned the talks and sought refuge in Libya.
Mali December 2008: Ag Bahanga's return
Sometime before the beginning of December 2008, Ibrahim Ag Bahanga returned from his self imposed exile in LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
: he and the Alliance Touaregue Nord Mali Pour Le Changement (ATNMC) faction took credit in communiques for a series of attacks in northern Mali beginning on 18 December. They attacked a desert garrison post at Nampala 500 km north of Bamako near the Mauritanian
Mauritanian
Mauritanian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Mauritania, a country in northwest Africa.* A person from Mauritania, or of Mauritanian descent. For information about the Mauritanian people, see Demographics of Mauritania....
border. Between 11 and 20 Malian Armed Forces soldiers were killed and an unknown number of rebels. This made it the bloodiest fighting since June 2007. The attack was prefaced by a the killing of an aide to a pro-government Tuareg leader in Gao
Gao
Gao is a town in eastern Mali on the River Niger lying ESE of Timbuktu. Situated on the left bank of the river at the junction with the Tilemsi valley, it is the capital of the Gao Region and had a population of 86,663 in 2009....
on the 18th, in a grenade attack on the politician's home.
The ATNMC released communiques claiming their patrols had, on 24 and 25 December destroyed two Army vehicles far south into the populated regions of Mali, on the Kati
Kati
Kati is a town made up of 37 communes in Mali's Koulikoro Region, about 15 km from Bamako, Mali's capital. It has a population of approximately 40,000 inhabitants.-Economy:...
-Diéma
Diema
Diema is part of the Nova Television Group Bulgaria, a subsidiary of MTG.The channel airs mainly films, action series. Along with Nova Sport airs sports, including matches from the English FA Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA European Football Championship qualifications, as well as the...
-Nioro
Nioro
Nioro is the name of two towns in West Africa*Nioro du Sahel: a town in the Kayes Region of western Mali*Nioro du Rip: a town in the southern Kaolack Region, Nioro du Rip Department, of Senegal...
road and the Ségou
Ségou
Ségou is a city in south-central Mali, lying northeast of Bamako on the River Niger, in the region of Ségou. It was founded by the Bozo people, on a site about from the present town...
to Tombouctou
Tombouctou
Tombouctou may be:* Tombouctou Region in northern Mali* The French name for the city of Timbuktu, which gives its name to the region...
road. There was no government confirmation of these attacks.
Regardless, the attack on Nampala pushed the fighting far to the south. The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure
Amadou Toumani Touré
Amadou Toumani Touré is the president of Mali. He overthrew a military ruler, Moussa Traoré in 1991, then handed power to civilian authorities the next year...
vowed harsh action in a speech at Kayes
Kayes
Kayes is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River, with a population of roughly 100,000 people. Kayes is the capital of the administrative region of the same name. The name "Kayes" comes from the Soninké word "karré", which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season...
: "Enough is enough. We cannot continue to suffer, we cannot keep counting our dead... We cannot keep searching for peace... They are firing on anything that moves. They are firing on soldiers, they're firing on civilians, what does all this mean?" He claimed that while Nampala had no strategic importance, it was "close to the different routes and paths that take drugs across the Sahara-Sahel strip". This was a reiteration of the government contention that elements of the rebels were motivated not by political motives, but were involved in the lucrative Saharan smuggling trade, and that the rebel's desire to have the town of Tin-Zaouatene evacuated of troops was cover for their smuggling operations.
The ADC and the ATNMC
The Malian army quickly responded with an attack on a rebel camp just west of Aguelhoc (In the Adrar des IfoghasAdrar des Ifoghas
The Adrar des Ifoghas is a sandstone massif in Mali's Kidal Region, having an area of about 250,000 km².The area is characterized by wide, shallow valleys, and is strewn with piles of eroded granite blocks...
, Kidal Region
Kidal Region
Kidal is the eighth administrative region of Mali, covering 151,430 km². Its capital is the city of Kidal.-Geography:The region is bordered on the west by Tomboctou Region, to the south by Gao Region, to the east by Niger and to the north by Algeria....
) in which it said it killed 20 fighters and took 8 prisoners. Malian press reports claimed that the Malian forces were led by Arab militias recruited by the government. One editorial in Le Republican (Bamako) argued that this, along with the growing resurgence of former Ghanda Koy militia activities in Gao risked adding a greater ethnic dimension to the conflict.
On 22 January, the Malian armed forces claimed to have destroyed Ag Bahanga's main base at Tinsalak (in the Tigharghar hills to the east of Tessalit
Tessalit
Tessalit is a city in Mali's Kidal Region. The town is both a Commune and the capital of Tessalit Cercle . As of 1998 the commune had a total population of 2,533....
), killing 31 and capturing 8. The attack, unlike the previous assault, was reported to have been carried out by regular units of the armed forces. In mid December, Ag Bahanga gave an interview to the Algerian El-Watan newspaper claiming that war was now his only option in dealing with the government. On 24 January though May 23rd ADC Group rebels released the last three Malian military hostages they were holding in the Kidal area. In this same period, a group of foreign tourists were seized in southeastern Mali by unknown captors. Ag Bahanga denied any involvement. In a previous interview with the Algerian media, Ag Bahanga claimed Islamist GSPC
GSPC
The acronym GSPC may stand for:* Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat* Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation* Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre* Global Strategy for Plant Conservation* a symbol for the S&P 500...
militants were active "north of Timbuktu" (to the west of his area of operation), and that his forces were "in a state of war" with the GSPC. Some Malian sources initially blamed the kidnapping on Ag Bahanga's forces.
January 2009 also appeared to also have marked the final break between Ag Bahanga's faction and the remainder of the ADC. According to the 2006 and 2008 Algiers Accords, the ADC elements on cease fire were headquartered in Kidal, both the political leadership, and the former fighters integrated in the their own units of the Malian Armed forces. In Mid January, the former Ag Bahanga faction military commander, Lt. Col. Hassane Fagaga, returned to ceasefire and cantonment near Kidal. According to the Malian military, Fagaga came into cantonment with 400 ADC fighters. On 26 January, Fagaga and the remained of the cease-fire ADC announced that they would transfer their headquarters and bases south of Kidal. On 5 February, the Malian Armed forces concluded negotiations for 180 of the ADC fighters, all former Malian Armed Forces deserters, to re-enter the cantonment area at Camp Kidal. These fighters maintained control of their arms. The government, rebels and Algerian interlocutors held off on a final agreement that would bring the remaining 220 or more rebels into cantonment. The tripartite Groupe Technique de Sécurité, set up under the 2008 accord, would negotiate the movement of rebel forces into disarmament, possible reintegration into security services, and final cantonment at a base near Agharous, 50 km south of Kidal.
If all these ADC forces remain on ceasefire, it is unclear how many fighters remain with Ag Bahanga and his ATNMC faction, especially as the faction itself claimed in late 2007 to have no more than 165 men under arms. On 6 February, the Malian Armed Forces claimed they had taken the last of the ATNMC positions, while Ag Bahanga and an unknown number of fighters had crossed the border into Algeria.
External links
- azawad-union.blogspot.com: official press site of the ADC during the year 2006.