Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BAMAKO567
2008-06-18 15:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

TUAREG REBELS SEEK UNITY AS FOOD CRISIS IN KIDAL

Tags:  ASEC PINS PHUM PREL ML 
pdf how-to read a cable
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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 181555Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9316
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0448
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 SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000567 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2018
TAGS: ASEC PINS PHUM PREL ML
SUBJECT: TUAREG REBELS SEEK UNITY AS FOOD CRISIS IN KIDAL
LOOMS

REF: A. BAMAKO 00305

B. BAMAKO 00482

C. BAMAKO 00507

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 000567

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2018
TAGS: ASEC PINS PHUM PREL ML
SUBJECT: TUAREG REBELS SEEK UNITY AS FOOD CRISIS IN KIDAL
LOOMS

REF: A. BAMAKO 00305

B. BAMAKO 00482

C. BAMAKO 00507

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

1.(C) Summary: A delegation of Tuaregs rebels, including
Ibrahim Bahanga, Hassan Fagaga and Alliance for Democracy and
Change (ADC) spokesman Ahmada ag Bibi, traveled to Algeria
during the weekend of June 14-15 in an attempt to unify
disparate Tuareg rebel movements under the banner of the
Alliance for Democracy and Change (ADC). Reconstituting the
ADC, which signed the Algiers Accords on behalf of Tuareg
rebels in July 2006, is a key step toward reviving Algerian
mediated peace negotiations with the Malian government.
Personal rivalries between Tuareg leaders, however, are
likely to complicate attempts to convince dissident Tuareg
rebels like Bahanga and Fagaga to return to the ADC. Also
during the weekend of June 14-15, the Malian Red Cross
completed visits to Malian soldiers held captive by Bahanga
and the ADC. According to the Red Cross, Bahanga is
currently holding 49 hostages. The ADC has another 26
hostages, bringing the total number of captive Malian
soldiers to 75. The Red Cross reported that civilian
populations displaced by fighting in northern Mali were
facing serious food shortages. Government officials in Kidal
also warned of an impending humanitarian crisis. End Summary.

--------------
Tuareg Rebels Seek Unity
--------------

2.(C) A delegation of Tuareg rebels traveled from Tinzawaten
to Tamanrasset in southern Algeria during the weekend of June
14-15. The group is composed of individuals representing
various Tuareg rebel movements and ethnic fractions and is
expected to continue on to Algiers. Ibrahim Bahanga, Hassan
Fagaga and Hama ag Moussa are representing the Northern Mali
Tuareg Alliance for Change (ATNMC). Several Malian
newspapers erroneously reported last week that Fagaga was
mortally wounded during a June 3-5 skirmish with government
backed paramilitary units in Tin Assalek. The Malian
government claims to have killed 20 rebels during this
encounter. Bahanga's father-in-law and ATNMC spokesman Hama
ag Sid'Ahmed reported that Tuaregs suffered no casualties and

instead killed 13 Malian soldiers. Ag Sid'Ahmed is expected
to travel from Paris to Algiers to join the delegation from
Kidal.

3.(C) On the ADC side are Ahmada ag Bibi, Commandant Ada ag
Massamad, Kidal Chamber of Commerce President Abdousalam ag
Assalat, and the National Assembly Deputy from Tessalit,
Deity ag Sidamou. The Tuaregs added Eghless ag Oufene - a
newly minted rebel who left his job as an accountant for a UN
sponsored development program in Kidal to lead a botched
attack against the Malian garrison in Aguelhok on March 26
(Ref. A) - to the delegation list at the last minute.

4.(C) An Algerian supported meeting of Tuareg rebel leaders
to select a point person capable of speaking on behalf of all
Tuareg factions under the banner of the ADC has been in the
works for several weeks (Refs. B and C). No one has been
able to unify Tuareg rebels since ADC leader Iyad ag Ghali
withdrew from northern Malian politics to assume a position
at the Malian consulate in Djeddah, Saudi Arabia. Since the
ADC is the only Tuareg movement officially recognized by the
Malian government, reconstituting the ADC symbolizes an
important step toward returning to the Algiers Accords
framework.

5.(C) Coaxing dissident Tuareg rebel leaders like Bahanga
and Fagaga to return to the ADC under the leadership of ag
Bibi may prove difficult. Several months of skirmishes with
the Malian military have given Bahanga a certain amount of
independence from traditional Tuareg power structures. In
the eyes of many Kidal Tuaregs, however, Bahanga remains a
semi-literate bandit incapable of leading anyone other than
members of his own Ifergoumessen Tuareg faction.

6.(C) The ADC contingent of the Tuareg delegation is equally
uninspiring. Commandant ag Massamad and Kidal Chamber of
Commerce president ag Assalat are peripheral members of the
ADC who belong to the smaller Taghat Melet fraction, which
limits their ability to speak on behalf of other Tuaregs. Ag
Sidamou occupies a more central place within the ADC but his

BAMAKO 00000567 002 OF 002


conflicting roles as the National Assembly Deputy from
Tessalit, a leader of the Idnane fraction and a renowned
illicit trafficker mean he is ill-suited for the role of
Tuareg point person. While ADC spokesman ag Bibi belongs to
the Kidal Tuareg's ruling Ifoghas hierarchy, he is
increasingly out of the loop when it comes to ADC operational
decisions. Yet he does hold one trump card: his signature is
affixed to the Algiers Accords.

--------------
Red Cross Identifies 75 Malian Hostages
--------------

7.(U) Last week the Malian Red Cross in Kidal visited 33
Malian soldiers held hostage by Bahanga. The Red Cross said
the hostages were "not happy" but that their living
conditions were consistent with the quality of life generally
found in northern Mali. Three of the hostages were slightly
ill. During the Red Cross visit, each of the Malian
prisoners was allowed to call his family via cell phone.
Tuareg rebels aligned with Bahanga produced a second group of
15 to 16 hostages just as the Red Cross was leaving to return
to Kidal, bringing the total number of hostages held by
Bahanga to 49. On June 14 the Red Cross visited 26 Malian
soldiers captured by the ADC during the May 21 attack in
Abeibera. The Red Cross reported that one of these
prisoners, a Commandant Traore, required medication for
diabetes.

-------------- --------------
Internally Displaced Populations and Food Shortages
-------------- --------------

8.(U) The Malian Red Cross, in conjunction with the
International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC),is
completing an assessment of food availability in the region
of Kidal. Officials with the Red Cross in Kidal report that
the impacts of food shortages are already visible among the
several thousand people displaced by fighting in the region.
Malian government officials and members of civil society in
Kidal also expressed fears of an impending food crisis to a
locally employed Embassy staff member who is from Kidal and
visited the city June 10-12. Approximately 70 to 80 percent
of Kidal's inhabitants have left the town. People have also
fled the villages of Abeibera and Aguelhok. Malian military
check-points and the presence of Tuareg rebel groups have
reduced the number of commercial resupply trucks carrying
food, medicines and other essential items to Kidal to close
to zero. Local leaders described the town as under a de
facto embargo. The Governor of Kidal, Alhamdou ag Illyene,
said the food situation in Kidal was dire and that without
increased assistance people may begin to die of hunger within
months. He said the Malian government had pledged to deliver
a certain quantity of millet but had been unable to transport
the supplies all the way to Kidal. The Mayor of Kidal said
he expected to see child deaths from starvation within weeks.

--------------
Comment: More Pressure on Bahanga
--------------

9.(C) Since the ADC is the only Tuareg rebel faction
officially recognized by the Malian government, Tuareg
leaders and Algerian mediators will likely pressure Bahanga
to re-align himself with the ADC in order to facilitate a
return to the Algiers Accords framework. Bahanga has
repeatedly called for the implementation of the Algiers
Accords. Reassuming a place within the ADC that is
subservient to ADC spokesperson Ahmada ag Bibi, however, is
likely not what Bahanga had in mind. It will be incumbent on
Algeria to find a way to convince Bahanga to return to the
fold, possibly by facilitating the return of Iyad ag Ghali
from Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation
around Kidal is growing increasingly worrisome. The areas
where most of the displaced populations have taken refuge in
northern Mali are difficult to access even in times of peace.
Continuing hostilities make assessing their needs extremely
difficult and delivering any relief, should relief be
required, close to impossible.
MCCULLEY