Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BAMAKO415
2008-05-05 15:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

UPDATE ON NEGOTIATIONS, HOSTAGES AND HUMANITARIAN

Tags:  PREF EAID PHUM ASEC PINS ML 
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VZCZCXRO5580
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0415/01 1261549
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 051549Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9075
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0422
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000415 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2018
TAGS: PREF EAID PHUM ASEC PINS ML
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEGOTIATIONS, HOSTAGES AND HUMANITARIAN
SITUATION IN KIDAL

REF: A. BAMAKO 00385

B. BAMAKO 00366

C. BAMAKO 00299

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 SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000415

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2018
TAGS: PREF EAID PHUM ASEC PINS ML
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEGOTIATIONS, HOSTAGES AND HUMANITARIAN
SITUATION IN KIDAL

REF: A. BAMAKO 00385

B. BAMAKO 00366

C. BAMAKO 00299

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

1.(C) Acherif ag Mohamed and Mohamed ag Erlaf, two leaders
of the Tuareg commission that recently traveled to Kidal to
meet with Ibrahim Bahanga and members of the Alliance for
Democracy and Change (Ref A),have returned to Bamako to meet
with President Amadou Toumani Toure and Minister of
Territorial Administration, General Kafougouna Kone. Ag
Mohamed and ag Erlaf intend to tell the President that
Bahanga has agreed to a truce but continues to demand (1) a
reduction of Malian military forces in the region of Kidal,
(2) an inquiry into the April 10-11 execution of two Tuaregs,
and (3) a return to the framework of the Algiers Accords.
The local "Committee of Wisemen" in Kidal, which has helped
negotiate previous cease-fires with Bahanga and is working
with ag Mohamed and ag Erlaf, is currently exploring ways to
either bring the Algerian Ambassador to Mali to Kidal or
travel to Algiers to jump-start Algerian mediation efforts.

2.(U) On May 1 Bahanga released three of his 33 hostages to
a Libyan diplomat in Kidal. The three soldiers were likely
released for humanitarian reasons. On April 29 a Libyan
cargo plane delivered 30 tons of rice, milk, sugar and
cooking oil to the town of Gao in northern Mali. The items
are destined for populations in the northern region of Kidal
displaced by fighting between Tuareg rebel Ibrahim Bahanga
and the Malian army. It appears that Libya sent these
supplies on its own and was not acting on a request from
either the Malian government or international humanitarian
assistance organizations. There are rumors that one to three
more planeloads of humanitarian supplies from Libya are en
route.

3.(U) According to the Malian Red Cross, as of early April
there were 3250 displaced people in the area of Tinzawaten,
800 displaced people at In-Boulal, and 3500 displaced people
around Aguelhok. The group in Tinzawaten has been living in
a wadi between the Malian and Algerian frontiers, about 6km

from Tinzawaten, since fighting between Bahanga and the
Malian army began in August 2007 (Ref B). The group at
In-Boulal on the Mali-Niger border are Malian nationals who
recently returned to Mali from Niger to flee fighting there.
Those around Aguelhok fled into the desert following the
March 26 attack on the town by Tuareg bandits. On April 31
Malian Red Cross officials estimated that 3000 people from
the city of Kidal are also in need of assistance. These
individuals fled Kidal following the April 10-11 executions
of two Tuaregs (Ref C).

4.(U) Since August 2007 the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) and Malian Red Cross has delivered 20 tons
of rice, 500 tarps, 2100 sleeping mats, 200 blankets, 1500
buckets and 3300 liters of cooking oil to the displaced
people in Tinzawaten. No assistance - other than what
arrived yesterday from Libya - has been delivered to those in
Aguelhok, In-Boulal or Kidal. Red Cross officials are still
in the process of trying to assess the needs of the displaced
groups in these regions. The remoteness of Aguelhok and
In-Boulal have significantly slowed this process.

5.(U) The ICRC's regional director in Dakar told the Embassy
on April 11 that while he was concerned about the
humanitarian situation in northern Mali, he did not envision
a need for additional support beyond what the ICRC was
already providing. Malian Red Cross officials, however,
paint a somewhat different picture. On April 30 Malian Red
Cross officials in Bamako and Kidal said they were
increasingly worried about food availability and nutritional
concerns for displaced populations as well as for those who
remain in isolated northern towns like Kidal, and that more
assistance was needed.

6.(C) Comment: It is promising to hear that ag Mohamed and
ag Erlaf have returned with at least something resembling a
cease-fire agreement from Bahanga. It is also reassuring to
see Tuaregs not aligned with the Alliance for Democracy and
Change (ADC),like ag Mohamed and ag Erlaf, playing an
increasingly important and credible role in negotiation
efforts. Previous negotiations have been monopolized on the
Tuareg side by ADC leader Iyad ag Ghali, whose motivations
and interest in speaking for anyone other than himself have
always been in question. Ag Ghali returned to Bamako a few
days ago after spending several weeks in Tripoli. Tuareg

BAMAKO 00000415 002 OF 002


contacts indicate that he intends to assume his new
assignment to the Malian consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
shortly. While his departure from the northern Mali
political scene will leave a vacuum at the top of the ADC, it
may also provide an opening for more reliable and transparent
negotiators like ag Mohamed and ag Erlaf. Ag Mohamed and ag
Erlaf hope to report to President Toure and General
Kafougouna Kone within days. It is unlikely, however, that
this meeting will produce any new developments beyond perhaps
increased pressure for Algeria to return to the mediation
table. President Toure has already made clear his opposition
to a draw-down of military forces in Kidal. He is also
likely to tell ag Mohamed and ag Erlaf that an investigation
- which Kidal Tuaregs do not regard as credible - into the
April 10-11 executions is already underway.
MCCULLEY