TUAREG LEADERS TRY TO SECURE PRISONER RELEASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000721

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/11/2018
TAGS: ASEC PINS PINR ML
SUBJECT: TUAREG LEADERS TRY TO SECURE PRISONER RELEASE
BEFORE AUG. 15 DEADLINE

REF: A. BAMAKO 00712

B. BAMAKO 00684

C. BAMAKO 00482

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

1.(C) Summary: On August 10 Ahmada ag Bibi, National
Assembly Deputy and spokesman for the Tuareg rebel Alliance
for Democracy and Change (ADC),left Bamako for Kidal in an
apparent last ditch effort to convince fellow rebels to
release approximately 89 Malian soldiers in advance of an
informal August 15 deadline. Ag Bibi traveled to Kidal with
Presidential advisor and close Embassy contact Acherif ag
Mohamed. Upon arrival in Kidal, they intend to meet up with
the National Assembly Deputy from Kidal, Alghabass ag
Intallah, before trying to convince Ibrahim Bahanga and the
ADC's military leaders to liberate the Malian soldiers still
in captivity. Alghabass ag Intallah is the middle son of
Intallah ag Attaher who has been the Amenokal, or traditional
leader of Kidal Tuaregs, since 1963. Although probably only
in his early to mid-thirties, many regard Alghabass as the
most likely successor to the aged ag Attaher and northern
Mali's most promising rising star. His addition to the team
of ag Bibi and ag Mohamed, however, may not be enough to
convince Bahanga and others to give up 89 valuable bargaining
chips. End Summary.

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Kidal or Bust
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2.(C) ADC spokesman Ag Bibi and presidential advisor ag
Mohamed traveled to Kidal from Bamako on August 10 in a
last-ditch attempt to secure the release of at least some of
the 89 Malian soldiers held by Tuareg rebels before the
expiration of an August 15 deadline. The deadline was set
during last month's meeting between the Malian Government and
representatives of various Tuareg rebel factions in Algiers
(Ref. A). On August 8 the vice-president of the National
Assembly, Assarid ag Imbarcaouane, provided the Embassy with
a copy of the verbal agreement which the Malian and Tuareg
sides left unsigned in Algiers. Ag Imbarcaouane cautioned
that the document was confidential and not widely circulated
even within the Malian government.

3.(C) The agreement stipulates the installation, "by August
15 at the latest," of one 200-person mixed military unit in
Kidal. This unit would be charged with facilitating the
liberation of "detainees" and the return of displaced
populations, de-mining, military patrols, and other
unspecified missions. The document also calls for the
liberation of all detainees by August 15. The document
provided to the Embassy by ag Imbarcaouane carries a
handwritten note indicating that the two sides also agreed to
constitute a commission of inquiry into the deaths of
Commandant Barka ag Cheikh, Mohamed ag Moussa and Captain
Oumar N'Datou (see Ref. B) by August 10. The Malian and
Tuareg sides agreed to reconvene in Algiers, sometime between
August 20 and September 10, to evaluate progress toward
meeting these benchmarks.

4.(C) The Malian and Tuareg sides seem no closer to
achieving these steps than they were in late July in Algiers.
The evident lack of progress, and rapidly approaching
deadline, likely explains ag Bibi's hastily arranged return
to Kidal. Prior to leaving Bamako ag Bibi and ag Mohamed
called the Embassy to ask whether the U.S. could help cover
some of the fuel costs incurred while traveling all the way
to Kidal and beyond. Ag Bibi said that President Toure
supported the trip to Kidal, but declined to invest ag Bibi
with official orders for travel, thereby leaving ag Bibi and
ag Mohamed on their own in terms of funding. The Embassy
told ag Bibi that the U.S. was unable to provide support and
that the Malians or Algerians were likely better placed in
this regard. Ag Bibi and ag Mohamed subsequently departed
Bamako without additional financing.

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A Man to Watch: Alghabass ag Intallah
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5.(C) Ag Bibi hopes to convince both his own ADC and Ibrahim
Bahanga to release the estimated 89 Malians solders they are
currently holding by August 15. Ag Bibi clearly lacks the
authority to compel the ADC's military leaders, including

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Moussa Bah, Harouna Said and Ibrahim Bana, to release of
Malian military hostages. His position is even weaker
vis-a-vis Ibrahim Bahanga. Upon their arrival in Kidal, ag
Bibi and ag Mohamed plan to meet up with the National
Assembly Deputy from Kidal, Alghabass ag Intallah, in hopes
that ag Intallah's presence would add further weight to their
demarche.

6.(C) Alghabass is the middle son of Kidal's current, and
aged, Amenokal, Intallah ag Attaher. Although Alghabass is
only in his early to mid-thirties, he is the most likely
successor to ag Attaher. On August 5 the representative of
Mali's High Islamic Council in Kidal - Mohamed Lamine Fall,
who is an Ifoghas Tuareg despite his noticeably non-Tuareg
name - told the Embassy that Alghabass was the only realistic
candidate to replace ag Attaher and that a change could
happen within one to two years depending on ag Attaher's
failing health.

7.(C) As a member of the ruling Ifoghas Kel Afella tribe and
son of the current Amenokal, Alghabass meets the lineage
requirements of Tuareg leadership. Alghabass' elder brother,
the Assembly Deputy from Tin-Essako Mohamed ag Intallah, is
frequently described by fellow Tuaregs as lacking the
intelligence needed to replace his father. Alghabass, on the
other hand, seems to posses the intelligence and charisma of
a leader. These two qualities were strikingly evident during
a May 29 meeting with the Embassy during which ag Bibi did
most of the talking but deferred, nearly instantaneously, to
the younger Alghabass each time Alghabass quietly offered his
opinion (Ref. C).

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Comment: A Tough Sell
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8.(C) Ag Bibi and ag Mohamed alone likely have little chance
of convincing Bahanga and the ADC's military leadership to
release the 89 Malian hostages. If ag Bibi is unable to
convince his own ADC to respect the informal, unsigned August
15 deadline, his chances with Bahanga are even slimmer. As
an official adviser to President Toure and Mali's former
consul in Tamanrasset, ag Mohamed is a well-known and
well-respected Kidal Tuareg. He is not, however, on good
terms with Bahanga. While the addition of Alghabass changes
the equation somewhat, it may still not be enough to overcome
these weaknesses. Failure to release at least some of the
prisoners by August 15, may put in doubt the follow up
meeting between Mali and the Tuareg rebels planned for late
August or early September in Algiers.
LEONARD