Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BAMAKO414
2008-05-05 15:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

MALIAN MILLITARY CONVOY REPELS ATTACK BY BANDITS

Tags:  ASEC PINS PINR MASS MARR PREL ML 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5578
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0414 1261549
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 051549Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9074
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAMAKO 000414 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2018
TAGS: ASEC PINS PINR MASS MARR PREL ML
SUBJECT: MALIAN MILLITARY CONVOY REPELS ATTACK BY BANDITS
NEAR TESSALIT

REF: BAMAKO 00305

Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson, Embassy Bamako, for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAMAKO 000414

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2018
TAGS: ASEC PINS PINR MASS MARR PREL ML
SUBJECT: MALIAN MILLITARY CONVOY REPELS ATTACK BY BANDITS
NEAR TESSALIT

REF: BAMAKO 00305

Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson, Embassy Bamako, for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1.(C) On May 3 a group of armed bandits attacked a Malian
military convoy destined for the northern Malian town of
Tessalit. According to Malian military and international
press reports, one Malian soldier and four Tuareg bandits
were killed. Tuareg contacts, however, reported that no
bandits were killed. Ibrahim Bahanga has denied any
involvement in the attack. This denial, however, has not
prevented the Malian and international press from implicating
Bahanga and accusing him of having broken a quasi-cease-fire
agreement with the Malian government.

2.(C) The military column, which was led by the ethnic-Arab
Commandant Meloud Abdurahmane, continued on to Tessalit after
the attack. The fact that the convoy reached its destination
supports local reports that the attack was orchestrated not
by Bahanga but the same band of local bandits that attacked
the Malian military outpost in Aguelhok on March 26 (Ref A).
Convoys attacked by Bahanga, who has extensive military
training and firepower, have been either captured or
destroyed. The largely unsuccessful March 26 and May 3
attacks, on the other hand, appear amateur in nature.
Individuals likely connected to both attacks include the
bandit/smuggler Merzouk ag Acherif, the mayor of Tessalit
Abdullah ag Albacar and the former UN accountant Eghless ag
Oufene.

3.(C) Comment: Restive Tuaregs with guns and a stake in the
Sahara's lucrative illicit smuggling trade have always posed
a threat to travelers, whether military or civilian, in
northern Mali. While Bahanga may not have been behind this
most recent attack, his actions over the past 6 months have
clearly opened a window for other Tuareg bandits to attack
military installations and convoys without fear of serious
reprisal. As peace negotiations between Mali and Bahanga
drag on, the likelihood of similar attacks by independent
Tuareg rebels-in-training goes up.
MCCULLEY