Mali Ripped Apart By Tuareg Rebellion

[The Brain]

0% knew about Timbuktu?

[derspiess]

I suppose a place can exist and still be mythical.  As in, it's there but isn't quite as spectacular as it is said to be.  Here is the original source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6062360.stm

[The Brain]

I suppose a place can exist and still be mythical. 

In a mythical universe, sure.

[Valmy]

As in, it's there but isn't quite as spectacular as it is said to be.

Well let's just say its best days are behind it...

[jimmy olsen]

Looks like the Tuareg have won and Mali is doomed.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mali-tuaregs-20120404,0,5399355.story

By Robyn Dixon and Jane Labous, Los Angeles Times

April 4, 2012

It took just a few months of combat for Tuareg rebels in Mali, battle-hardened by their time fighting for Libya's late leader Moammar Kadafi, to achieve a century-old dream: conquering a huge swath of northern Mali that they see as their homeland.

Even if the rebels never win international recognition, their battlefield successes have in effect partitioned the West African nation. Neither the country's new military junta nor leaders of neighboring nations appear capable of overturning the recent gains by the rebels, analysts say.

After a military coup in March that toppled the government a month before elections, the main Tuareg rebels took several key cities, including Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, a stunning advance that saw the collapse of Mali's army in the north.

The chaos has fed fear that Islamic militants will take advantage of the rebels' success to advance their agendas, that the weak military junta will cling to power in the south, and that problems of poverty and drug running will be exacerbated.

The coup stemmed from outrage in the military over the government's failure to properly equip troops to fight the heavily armed Tuareg force, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, known by its French acronym, MNLA.

In response to the coup, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States on Monday imposed sanctions that include a blockade that could starve the landlocked country of fuel within days and leave the junta without money from the regional central bank in Senegal to pay soldiers and civil servants.

West Africa is already in the grip of a growing hunger crisis, which the sanctions are likely to worsen in Mali, humanitarian agencies say.

Even without the coup and resulting power vacuum, the MNLA probably would have gained control of the north, said Jeremy Keenan, a professor in the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. He said the military's resistance had largely collapsed even before the overthrow of the government, with troops running out of ammunition in some cases.

The Tuareg consider the region their homeland, which they call Azawad. Many Malians fled towns in the region this week and others stayed indoors; Amnesty International reported looting, violence and the closure of hospitals.

As people lined up for fuel and food Tuesday in Bamako, the capital, economist Moustaphe Doumbia said the country was demoralized and fearful.

"It's calm at the moment in Bamako, but the population is beginning to be very afraid," he said in a telephone interview from the city. "The economy is no longer working.... Everyone is beginning to realize that we are going to have trouble surviving. It is a humanitarian disaster that we are facing here."

While UNESCO worries about the possible destruction of some of Timbuktu's World Heritage earthen mosques and priceless ancient manuscripts, Western security analysts are concerned that an ally of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the militant group's regional affiliate, appears to be piggybacking on the rebels' advances.

The Al Qaeda group, which has no apparent links to the rebels, has been responsible for kidnappings and killings of foreigners, destroying tourism in Timbuktu and undermining an annual desert music festival. Its ally Ansar Dine, or Defenders of Faith, who form part of the northern Mali rebellion, have a different agenda: imposing sharia, or Islamic law, across Mali.

Ansar Dine militants, led by Iyad ag Aghaly, have swooped into towns conquered by the MNLA in recent days, raised their black flag and told shopkeepers and imams that sharia was being imposed.

But Keenan said the group, consisting of a few hundred fighters, played an insignificant role in the rebels' seizure of the north.

Aghaly's "contribution on the military front is small," he said. "What seems to happen is that when they move into a town, the MNLA take out the military base — not that there's much resistance — and Iyad goes into town and puts up his flag and starts bossing everyone around about sharia law."

Mali's new military junta, led by Capt. Amadou Sanogo, may have hoped the coup would win support in the region: It appealed to neighboring countries to send troops to defeat the rebels. Instead the economic community's leaders said they were willing to send 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers to try to crush the northern rebellion — once the junta stepped aside.

Sanogo has said the junta will stand down and make way for elections that he and other junta members won't contest, but has given no time frame. The coup has some support among Malians, partly because of widespread corruption in the country, which has become a major transit route for Latin American drugs destined for Europe.

Meanwhile, the army appears to have no hope of pushing back the Tuareg rebels, many of whom fought as mercenaries in Kadafi's army or alongside his loyalists in the Libyan war last year. With the defeat of Kadafi, their longtime patron, thousands of the rebels flooded into Mali with a huge arsenal of heavy arms. They then launched a rebellion in January.

Having taken Azawad, the Tuareg leadership has indicated it has no plans to move south.

"Now Mali can't beat these people," said Doumbia, the economist. "The military [forces] do not have enough equipment, but also, even if they had the arms, they are totally demoralized."

If Mali's neighbors do send troops into the north, one of the harshest environments on Earth, it could spark more chaos in the region, Keenan said. Tuaregs also reside in Niger, Algeria and Libya.

"It could spread into a regional conflagration," he said. "The Tuaregs would see it as a race war. You might get Tuaregs from other countries coming across to join the fight."

A West African force "would probably get humiliated against the Tuaregs, who are very hardened and seasoned fighters.... They're happy to die for it," Keenan said, referring to Azawad independence.

Some analysts are predicting a revolt or counter-coup as the sanctions' bite worsens. Without access to goods transported through Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal, "we will quickly be in chaos," Doumbia said. "There will be a revolt."

[email protected]

Times staff writer Dixon reported from Johannesburg and special correspondent Labous from London.

[DGuller]

I suppose a place can exist and still be mythical.  As in, it's there but isn't quite as spectacular as it is said to be.  Here is the original source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6062360.stm

New Jersey is one. 

[Valmy]

Looks like the Tuareg have won and Mali is doomed.

And not just Mali.  It is pretty grim.

[Sheilbh]

Looks like the Tuareg have won and Mali is doomed.

And not just Mali.  It is pretty grim.

The Economist article on this was really interesting.  It made it sound like a lot of the problem was climate change in the Sahel, if so this may just be the first war.

[jimmy olsen]

Seems like this will end in ethnic cleansing and genocide. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17686468

New Mali leader Dioncounda Traore warns rebels of war

Mali's new leader, Dioncounda Traore, has threatened a "total war" against separatist rebels in the north.

Mr Traore's inauguration marks a return to civilian rule following last month's coup in the West African state.

Mr Traore now has 40 days to organise elections - though correspondents say this deadline is unlikely to be met because of the situation in the north.

Since the coup, Tuareg and Islamist militants have taken control of much of the northern desert region.

The UN says there are continuing reports of civilians being killed, robbed, raped and forced to flee northern rebel-held areas.

"Reports also suggest that tensions between different ethnic groups are being stirred up, increasing the risk of sectarian violence," the UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay said in a statement.
Handshake

Mali's former parliamentary speaker was sworn in by Supreme Court President Nouhoum Tapily at a brief ceremony in the capital, Bamako.

Moments after taking the presidential oath and to applause, Mr Traore warned he would use military force to wrest back the northern part of Mali unless Tuareg rebels and Islamist militants ceded control of the territory they seized in the wake of the coup.

He called on the rebels to "return to the fold and to strengthen this nation instead of dividing it," adding that if they do not, "we will not hesitate to wage a total and relentless war."

The BBC's West African correspondent Thomas Fessy in Bamako said there was a standing ovation when coup leader Capt Amadou Sanogo shook hands with the new president.

Correspondents say that while Mr Traore's inauguration may bring hope, lasting peace in the north will not be achieved until the end of the political uncertainty in Bamako - and the role of coup leader Capt Sanogo becomes clear.

West African states lifted sanctions against Mali after Capt Sanogo agreed to step aside in a deal agreed with the regional bloc Ecowas on Friday.

But Capt Sanogo told the BBC subsequently: "The agreement is clear. [Traore] will be here for 40 days and after 40 days, my committee and Ecowas will sit together and fix transition organs."

Asked if that meant he would be back in power after that time, he replied: "I didn't say that. I don't know."

Food crisis warning

Before the deal he had formally asked Ecowas for help in defeating Tuareg separatists and their Islamist allies.

However, he has since said he needs only equipment and logistical support - and rejected the intervention of a 3,000-strong foreign force.

Nevertheless, Ecowas is still mulling the possibility of sending in regional troops, and foreign ministers are discussing the situation on Thursday in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan.

The Tuaregs, who inhabit the Sahara Desert in Mali and several neighbouring countries, have fought several rebellions over the years, claiming they have been ignored by Bamako.

But human rights groups warn there could be a major humanitarian disaster in the wake of the fighting in the north.

"The urgency of the situation in Mali is exacerbating an already extremely serious humanitarian crisis affecting the whole of the Sahel region, and the country may soon be plunged into a devastating food crisis with a risk of other shortages, including medical supplies, if the insurrections and insecurity persist," Ms Pillay said.

Correspondents say Mr Traore, 70, has long harboured presidential ambitions - but he had hoped to come to power through the ballot box, by contesting elections originally scheduled for later this month.

The former mathematician heads Mali's largest political party, the Alliance for Democracy in Mali, and was an ally of the deposed President Amadou Toumani Toure, who formally resigned on Sunday.

Known as ATT, the former president had been due to step down this month after two terms in office - and people had become increasingly frustrated with his government for doing little to tackle corruption and the growing insecurity and eventual rebellion in the north.

As a consequence, many Malians are wary of Mr Traore, Bamako-based journalist Martin Vogl told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

Mr Traore is not regarded as charismatic, nor seen by many people as a natural leader, he says.

[jimmy olsen]

Counter-coup fails! Martial law is super effective!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/mali-coup-leaders-fend-off-countercoup/article2418984/

Malian military junta troops who carried out a coup in March guard a street after renewed fighting in the capital Bamako May 1, 2012. - Malian military junta troops who carried out a coup in March guard a street after renewed fighting in the capital Bamako May 1, 2012. | Adama Diarra/REUTERS

Bamako, Mali— The Associated Press
Published Tuesday, May. 01, 2012 11:41AM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, May. 01, 2012 8:31PM EDT

Gunfire echoed across Bamako on Tuesday as Malian government troops battled each other, killing at least 12 people as one side tried to oust soldiers who seized power in a coup over a month ago.

Mali's coup leaders, who ostensibly handed over power to an interim civilian government on April 12 but who still wield power, said they control the state broadcaster, the airport and a military base, fending off attacks by opposing forces. Coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo told a private radio station Monday night that the countercoup had failed and that his soldiers have captured foreign fighters.

A senior Western diplomat based in Bamako told The Associated Press that the fighting apparently started Monday when forces loyal to the junta tried to arrest the former head of the presidential guard. The presidential guard is part of Mali's parachutist regiment, known as the Red Berets, who are believed to have remained loyal to President Amadou Toumani Toure, who was ousted during the coup.

Anti-junta forces tried to take over the country's state broadcaster and attacked the airport and the junta's main military base. Yaya Konate, the head of the broadcast station, said that troops arrived at the station at around 6:30 p.m. on Monday firing in the air and told all personnel working there to leave. He said the soldiers who took charge of the building were from the Red Berets.

Soldiers loyal to Capt. Sanogo, however, appeared on state television early Tuesday and said the important installations remain in their hands after fighting. But heavy gunfire across Bamako suggests that the leaders of the March coup don't yet have total control over the capital.

A dozen bodies had been brought to the hospital since the fighting started Monday evening, said a hospital official.

"Some are military and some are civilians who must have got caught up in the fighting. They were all killed by gunshot wounds in areas around where the conflict was going on," Adama Traore said.

Mr. Traore said that the hospital had treated around 30 injured people. He said most of the military personnel had been given treatment and then returned to their bases.

A source close to the junta told AP that reinforcements were coming from other major Malian towns to strengthen the junta's position.

"The first reinforcements have already arrived and others will be in Bamako soon," the soldier said. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the press.

A resident in the camp where most of the military personnel who tried to stage the countercoup live said Capt. Sanogo's forces are trying to capture those soldiers.

"Most of the families who live here and most of the military personnel have fled, but they still come to attack the camp," the resident said. He asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said that he could hear both small arms fire and heavy weapons but could not give more details as he was afraid to leave his house.

State television showed a small group of prisoners along with guns, ammunition and grenades supposedly belonging to the captured troops.

"Those arrested come from different origins and were supported by hidden internal forces," a statement read by soldiers Tuesday said. "Some of these people have been detained by the armed forces and an in-depth investigation will take place. We remind you that everyone involved ... will be tracked down and brought before the competent jurisdictions."

Capt. Sanogo has signed a deal with ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc, to return the country to constitutional rule. The deal gave the junta a supervisory role in the transition. But Capt. Sanogo said Sunday that he rejects a plan to send ECOWAS troops to Mali to protect the president's and prime minister's office.

Mali is also battling insecurity in its desert north where separatist rebels have declared independence, and militants are trying to impose strict Islamic law.

Tuareg separatist fighters and Islamic militants took advantage of the chaos caused by the coup in Bamako last month to quickly advance and capture the three main towns in the north of Mali at the end of March. Mali government forces fled south without putting up any major resistance.

[Solmyr]

Alarmaling.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

in now the Touaregs have been kicked in the nads too by the AQ-affiliated scum. The result: the levelling of Timbouctou's world heritage has commenced.

[jimmy olsen]

in now the Touaregs have been kicked in the nads too by the AQ-affiliated scum. The result: the levelling of Timbouctou's world heritage has commenced.

Link?

[Crazy_Ivan80]

in now the Touaregs have been kicked in the nads too by the AQ-affiliated scum. The result: the levelling of Timbouctou's world heritage has commenced.

Link?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9369271/Timbuktu-shrine-destruction-a-war-crime.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/30/world/africa/mali-shrine-attack/index.html

[The Minsky Moment]

New Mali leader Dioncounda Traore

Any relation to Boubacar?
I guess Traore is a common surname.