Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAMAKO170
2009-03-19 16:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

MALIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF DEATH OF ALLEGED AQIM

Tags:  PTER PINS PINR PGOV ASEC ML 
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VZCZCXRO4188
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0170 0781641
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191641Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0147
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0597
UNCLAS BAMAKO 000170 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PINS PINR PGOV ASEC ML
SUBJECT: MALIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF DEATH OF ALLEGED AQIM
SUSPECT
UNCLAS BAMAKO 000170

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PINS PINR PGOV ASEC ML
SUBJECT: MALIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF DEATH OF ALLEGED AQIM
SUSPECT

1.(SBU) Several Malian newspapers have published articles
covering the February 26 automobile accident that killed four
members of the Malian State Security (DGSE) and one suspected
member of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The
accident occurred while the DGSE was transferring two
Mauritanian nationals and suspected AQIM members, both
arrested in September 2008, from Gao to Bamako. The
Mauritanian prisoner succumbed to his injuries a few days
after the accident. On March 10 the Malian newspaper Le
Republicain wondered if the death of the suspected terrorist
could hinder efforts to secure the release of the hostages
currently held by Moctar bel Moctar and AQIM. Le Republicain
also reported that the Mauritanian suspect's family as well
as an unnamed Mauritanian human rights association had
demanded an official autopsy and investigation of the
accident's circumstances.

2.(SBU) On March 17, under the headline "Accident or Act of
Sabotage?", Le Republicain described the transfer operation
as "badly planned, badly prepared, and badly executed" and
reported that colleagues of the dead DGSE officers were
pinning responsibility for the accident on DGSE senior
leadership. Le Republicain article said unnamed DGSE
officers questioned why six DGSE agents were ordered to
transfer two suspected AQIM prisoners from Gao to Bamako - a
14 hour drive - in one Dodge Dakota double-cabin pick-up.
The article said the vehicle had previously been loaned to a
former rebel leader in northern Mali and had only been
returned to the DGSE a day before. The DGSE officials
believed that, given the sensitivity of the mission, Mali
should have provided two vehicles or air transport.
According to le Republicain, the five people killed in the
accident were all sitting in the bed of the pick-up truck.
Asserting that the accident was caused by the loss of one of
the vehicle's wheels at high speed, Le Republicain raised the
possibility of sabotage and asked whether the vehicle had
been properly inspected and secured prior to its departure
from Gao.

3.(SBU) An earlier article run by Le Quotidien de Bamako
reported that the Malian government's official explanation of
the accident had convinced few people in the town of Kati,
where the DGSE officers were based. According to the paper,
the parents of the victims were denied access to their sons'
remains, and the government had not, as of March 2, opened an
investigation into the cause of the accident.
MILOVANOVIC