Wüstenschiff

Mali's Toure says ready to talk with Tuareg rebels
Sun 8 Jun 2008, 17:22 GMT

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure said on Sunday he was open to negotiations with Tuareg rebels, days after an army offensive against their northern base ... mehr

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BURKINA FASO
Refugee camp in Ougadougou for Malian Tuaregs
09.06.2008

Tuareg nomads have fled the deserts of northern Mali because of fighting between Mali's army and the Tuareg rebellion. For two months now the Ouagadougou stadium in Burkina Faso has served as a refugee camp ... mehr mit Video

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Harraga
80 Families seeking refuge in Southern Algeria
11.06.2008 - El Khabar

The local authorities in Adrar southernmost province, are preparing for taking in charge more than 450 people hailing from 80 families, including women, as they are staying near the border line between Timiaouine municipality, 850km southern Adrar, and Kidal region southern Mali, a source close to National Gendarmerie unveiled. According to the same sources, the refugees coming from Timiaouine region, have kept in touch with the province security services, at the aim of taking them in charge ... mehr

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Sécurité: Bahanga perd le contrôle
13.06.2008 - lemali.fr

Rebellion au nord du Mali - Les Bandits armés au Nord de la région de Kidal n’ont pas échappé au phénomène de dissidence. Deux années après les agissements des deux larrons Fagaga et Bahanga, les bandits armés qui sévissent au Nord Mali laissent éclater des déchirures. Face au mode opératoire de la rébellion, qui a suscité la désapprobation des populations, y compris chez les Touaregs, le mouvement a fini par s’émietter avec la multiplication des groupes armés [...] Même le théâtre des opérations s’est déplacé : à la partie septentrionale, nord-est de Kidal, on assiste désormais à l’extension des attaques aux régions sud, contre l’armée mais aussi contre des particuliers dont les biens l’objet de razzia et l’apparition du phénomène de prises d’otages pour internationaliser le problème ... mehr

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Clashes between Tuareg rebels Malian Army
34 people killed and 21 other injured in Kidal
14.06.2008 - El Khabar

Two Malian soldiers have been transferred from Adrar province hospital to Algiers Hospital, following serious injuries they have been subject to in their heads, during clashes taking place northern Mali between the Malian Army and Tuareg rebels. 34 people were killed, while 21 others injured, during an attack led by Tuareg rebels on a Military barrack in the extreme north of Mali, near the Algerian Timiaouine region, a colonel in the Malian Army told El Khabar ... mehr

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Krise in Mali weitet sich aus
Präsident ATT setzt auf Politik der Starken Hand im Tuareg-Konflikt
01.07.2008 - Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

Nach dem Niger gerät nun auch Mali immer tiefer in die Tuareg-Krise. Mit dem Abkommen von Algier im Juli 2006 glaubte man, die Tuareg-Krise beendet zu haben. Damals gelang es Mali auf dem Verhandlungswege, den Frieden im Norden wieder herzustellen. Geradezu beispielhaft, verglichen mit dem Niger, löste der malische Präsident Amadou Toumani Touré (genannt ATT) damals die Rebellion im Norden des Landes auf ... mehr

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Uran-Konflikt - Gefährliche Schätze
In Mali und Niger liefern sich Regierungstruppen Kämpfe mit den Touareg-Rebellen, Tausende sind auf der Flucht. Worum geht es in diesem Konflikt?
03.07.2008 - Die Zeit

Issa Agabas kennt sich aus in Ouagadougou. Früher hat der Kunsthandwerker hier, in der Hauptstadt des westafrikanischen Burkina Faso, einmal gearbeitet. Nun ist er zurück: als Flüchtling aus Mali. Nach ihm sind mehr als 1000 weitere Malier gekommen, fünf Tage dauert der Fußmarsch aus dem Norden Malis. Issa, der Ortskundige, konnte vielen helfen, nach Ouagadougou zu finden: „Wenn sie an der Grenze waren, riefen sie mich an.“ ... mehr

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Mali, Algeria plan joint patrols on Saharan border
Tue 15 Jul 2008, 17:24 GMT

BAMAKO, (Reuters) - Mali and Algeria are discussing joint military patrols and exchanges of intelligence to pursue Tuareg rebels and al Qaeda militants operating on their remote Saharan frontier, Mali's military chief said on Tuesday. Colonel Gabriel Podiougou, who took over as armed forces chief last month, opened three days of talks in Bamako between senior Malian and Algerian military commanders aimed at improving security cooperation between the two Saharan neighbours. Mali is struggling to quell a rebellion by Tuareg fighters in its northeast Kidal region, while Algerian authorities have been battling armed Islamist groups, including al Qaeda's North Africa wing which has claimed a series of suicide bombings ... mehr

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Mali begins new talks with rebels
18.07.2008

BAMAKO - Representatives from the Malian government and Tuareg rebels were in Algiers yesterday for new talks to revive the peace process in northern Mali, sources close to Algerian mediators said. The meeting comes after a recent flare-up in violence between the army and the rebels that threatens the 2006 peace accord brokered by Algeria. The Tuareg rebels are currently holding 92 Malian soldiers hostage in the Sahara, according to a member of the committee appointed to oversee the implementation of the Algiers accords ... mehr

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Überfall in Tessalit
Geiselnahme, Waffen, Munition und Autos entwendet
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L19400798.htm

Mali und Tuareg-Rebellen vereinbaren Waffenstillstand
22.07.2008

Algier - Die Regierung von Mali und die Tuareg-Rebellen haben einen Waffenstillstand vereinbart, wie die algerische Regierung bekanntgab. mehr...

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Alexander

Interview:

The leader of Tuareg rebels in northern Mali Brahim Agg Bahanga to El Khabar
Libya is not behind our movement, we are defending our cause

The leader of Tuareg rebels Mr. Brahim Agg Bahanga has expressed his satisfaction concerning the results achieved during the last talks in Algeria. In an interview with El Khabar, the same speaker added that Mali has not made any concession, which would pave the way to an agreement, while denying that Libya is behind the rebel movement in this region. Mr. Bahanga has indicated that a war is ongoing between his belligerents, and the terrorist groups harboring in northern Mali.

El Khabar: you met recently with representatives of the Malian Government in Algeria, for 4 days, the press has reported that no progress has been made, what happened during the negotiations backed by Algeria?

Mr. Bahanga: the negotiations took a long time, but unfortunately we have not reached any substantial result, because the Malian Government has not made any concession. The main of our claims was the creation of status of the region of Kidal, to be intended for the Tuareg regions in the north, but not to the others. We called for the improvement of the situation as the agreement reached in Algeria, in 2006, stipulated, as well as the reducing of the number of the Malian troops in the north. But I think that the Government was not in favor, without caring of the Tuareg population in the north. As regards the conditions of the Malian Government, Mr. Bahanga added that Mali stressed on the bringing back of calm, and the freeing of the prisoners of war, and the handover of the arms of the elements of May.23, or the alliance for change.

El Khabar: as regards the war prisoners, will they be freed before the resumption of the next negotiations’ rounds in Algeria?

Mr. Bahanga: on the back of the results achieved during the last talks, none of the prisoners, whose number is 92, will be released, because the Malian authorities have not fulfilled their commitments.

El Khabar: it seems that you are not eager to achieve a peace agreement, and your coalition is imposing conditions facing the establishment of a sustainable peace across the region?

Mr. Bahanga: I do not think so, we are the most defenders of peace across the region, and the peace could not be brought back to the northern regions of Mali, unless a sustainable development will be engaged by the Malian authorities.

El Khabar: are your elements close to the terrorist groups under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda organization in North Africa?

Mr. Bahanga: the terrorist groups are based far from the regions in which we are established, they are based in Tombokto. We are waging a war against these groups a long time ago, but since few months, no battle faced us to them, they have fled to the surrounding regions for fear of being pursued by our elements. We will not tolerate their presence in these regions as our cause is different of their cause, we will not hesitate in tracking them down.

El Khabar: some journalists reported that the number of your elements is up to 3 thousand, are they Malian Tuareg, or coming from the neighboring countries, are there Algerian Tuareg within your coalition?

Mr. Bahanga: yes, indeed our elements are estimated at 3 thousand since 2006, but they are all Malian Tuareg, there neither Algerians, nor those from Niger, in which another movement is existing, our cause is just, and could be won only by the natives of the region. I reiterate that the people pretending so, are aiming at accusing us of separatism, what we are seeking for is the improvement of the Tuareg situation, and protecting them against the problems caused by the underdevelopment, so the situation should be put under control to avoid the worsening of the situation.

El Khabar: during the last negotiations last week in Algeria, an attack has been carried out against Gendarmerie centre, and claimed by a hardliner section, is it true?

Mr. Bahanga: No…the attackers pertain to the coalition for change, and they have captured 3 Malian soldiers.

El Khabar: Algeria invited you for new rounds of negotiations as by early August; will you travel again to Algeria?

Mr. Bahanga: we respect the role Algeria is playing, we are disposed to carry on, and I am personally disposed to represent the coalition once more, I wish achieving tangible results.

El Khabar: Libya is accused of being your sponsor as it aims at putting its project concerning the creation of a state of Tuareg, what do you think?

Mr. Bahanga: No country is our sponsor, the local coalition is charged by the Tuareg people, to defend their claims, so it is not true that Libya is behind our movement, and our arms are obtained from the Malian army, as a result of attacks and military operations.

Quelle: El Khabar

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Alexander

Vorläufiges Ende eines Aufstands
Fragiler Waffenstillstand zwischen Regierung Malis und Tuareg-Rebellen

Vertreter der malischen Regierung und von Tuareg-Rebellen unterzeichneten jüngst in Algier ein Waffenstillstandsabkommen. Der zwischen der Regierung in Bamako und Vertretern der »Alliance démocratique du 23 mai pour le changement« (ADC) am 21. Juni abgeschlossene Vertrag ist allerdings mit einiger Vorsicht zu genießen. mehr...

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Algeria Ambassador to Mali expresses satisfaction following 70 soldiers released by rebels

The Ambassador of Algeria to Mali, Mr. Abdelkrim Ghrieb, who is the mediator between Touareg rebels and the Malian Government, has expressed satisfaction following the release of 21 Malian soldiers, qualifying such a step as positive to strengthen the peace agreement reached between both parties. A leading official of the Touareg rebels has called on the Malian Government to take a similar measure to show its peaceful willing.
In a phone call with El Khabar, Mr. Ghreib said an Algerian delegation has transferred the soldiers of the Malian Army, who have been freed by the Touareg rebels; they were taken hostages for more than a year. The Algerian Ambassador has indicated that the release of the Malian soldiers is so significant, as it demonstrates that the Touareg rebels have shown their will to respect the agreement reached in Algiers, by last July.21st.
The same speaker added that the Algerian delegation has handed over the 21 Malian prisoners, whose whole number is estimated at 70, to the Malian authorities, while indicating that such a step is very valuable to consolidate both parties’ trust.
According to Mr. Ghreib, a meeting is scheduled to be held between the representatives of the Malian Government, and the Touareg opposition representatives, in the few coming days in Algiers. The meeting is with aim of assessing the steps undertaken in the framework of the Algiers agreement, which stipulated the release of prisoners, and settling the issue of the refugees, who moved to Burkina Faso, and Mauritania, for fear of armed clashes renewal between both parties.

Quelle: El Khabar

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Tuareg-Rebellen in Niger und Mali legen Waffen nieder

Libyen vermittelte Einigung - Sechzig Geiseln sollen freigelassen werden

Niamey - Tuareg-Rebellen in der Sahara haben unter libyscher Vermittlung ihren Aufstand gegen die Regierungen von Niger und Mali beendet, wie das staatliche Fernsehen in Niger am Dienstag berichtete. mehr...

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Alexander