Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAMAKO217
2009-04-09 14:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

LOCAL ELECTIONS TRUMP TUAREG REBEL CONCERNS IN

Tags:  PGOV KDEM PINS PINR ASEC PREL ML 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3820
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0217/01 0991421
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 091421Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0216
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0616
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000217 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINS PINR ASEC PREL ML
SUBJECT: LOCAL ELECTIONS TRUMP TUAREG REBEL CONCERNS IN
NORTHERN MALI

REF: BAMAKO 00211

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 000217

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINS PINR ASEC PREL ML
SUBJECT: LOCAL ELECTIONS TRUMP TUAREG REBEL CONCERNS IN
NORTHERN MALI

REF: BAMAKO 00211

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

1.(C) Summary: On April 7 National Assembly Deputy and
Tuareg rebel Alliance for Democracy and Change (ADC)
spokesman Ahmada ag Bibi said the Malian government was
unwilling to take any additional steps toward implementing
the Algiers Accords until after Mali's April 26 local
elections. Ag Bibi met with the Algerian Ambassador to Mali
and Minister of Territorial Administration Kafougouna Kone on
April 3 to discuss restarting Accords implementation. Ag
Bibi said the most important issues for the ADC were the
creation of mixed military units, the immediate liberation of
approximately 22 Tuareg rebels imprisoned in Bamako, and the
dissolution of Tuareg and Arab militias. The only
indications of progress toward mixed military units appears
to be the creation of a new acronym - the USS or Special
Security Units - and the ADC's decision to nominate
Commandant Moussa Bah to be the mixed units' senior Tuareg
officer. Meanwhile, Tuareg anxiety over the status of
approximately 22 rebels captured during Mali's January and
February offensive against rogue Tuareg rebel leader Ibrahim
Bahanga is growing. On April 5 Malian authorities allowed
the National Assembly Deputy from Kidal, Alghabass ag
Intallah, to meet with just two of the Tuareg prisoners in
Bamako. Ag Bibi refused the Malian's offer, stating that he
would only see all of the prisoners. Although he hasn't
spoken with any of these individuals personally, ag Bibi said
Tuareg rebel prisoners had been "badly beaten" and "badly
tortured" by Malian authorities. End Summary.

--------------
Local Elections Overshadow Algiers Accords
--------------

2.(C) On April 7 National Assembly Deputy and ADC spokesman
Ahmada ag Bibi provided a brief resume of his April 3 meeting
in Bamako with the Algerian Ambassador to Mali, Minister of
Territorial Administration Kafougouna Kone, and Algiers
Accords Steering Committee Chairman Mahamadou Diagouraga.

The group met to discuss jump-starting the stalled Algiers
Accords implementation process. Ag Bibi said he encouraged
his Malian and Algerian colleagues to create special mixed
units, finance "economic reinsertion" payments for Tuareg
youth, dissolve the ethnic Tuareg and Arab militias, liberate
Tuareg rebel prisoners, and start working on "big"
development projects - all as soon as possible. Minister
Kone reportedly said Mali could do nothing until after local
elections on April 26 and asked ag Bibi to be patient. Ag
Bibi responded by noting that the Tuareg prisoners had
nothing to do with local elections and should be released
immediately. Minister Kone subsequently promised to raise
the question with President Amadou Toumani Toure.

--------------
Tuareg Rebel Prisoners
--------------

3.(C) Perhaps in response to ag Bibi's demarche, Mali
authorized him and fellow National Assembly Deputy from
Kidal, Alghabass ag Intallah, to visit two of the twenty-two
Tuareg rebel prisoners on April 5. Not to be confused with
three other Tuaregs recently captured by Malian security
services in connection with the AQIM hostage crisis, most if
not all of the imprisoned Tuaregs on ag Bibi and Alghabass'
radar screen were captured during Mali's January and February
offensive against Ibrahim Bahanga. Alghabass ended up
visiting the two individuals by himself as ag Bibi refused
the Malian's offer, stating that he would rather see all of
the prisoners upon their liberation. Although he has not
personally visited the Tuareg rebel prisoners, ag Bibi said
they had been badly "beaten" and "tortured" by Malian
authorities. Like Alghabass, ag Bibi also warned that
impatient Tuaregs in Kidal could attempt to capture a
detachment of Malian soldiers at any moment to help
accelerate their fellow rebels' release from prison in Bamako
(Ref. A). "Everyone is wondering," said ag Bibi of his
fellow Kidal Tuaregs, "why they have not been liberated."

4.(C) During the morning of April 7 ag Bibi and Alghabass
held a similar meeting with National Assembly President
Diouncounda Traore prior to the opening of Mali's April
National Assembly Session. Ag Bibi said he and Alghabass
stressed the need to release Tuareg prisoners, dissolve the
ethnic Tuareg and Arab militias now roaming northern Mali,
and immediately constitute mixed military units - or the USS
- per the Algiers Accords. The National Assembly President

BAMAKO 00000217 002 OF 002


also promised to relay this information to President Toure.

--------------
Ethnic Militias and the USS
--------------

5.(C) Ag Bibi urged both Minister Kone and National Assembly
President Traore to speed the dissolution of ethnic Tuareg
and Arab militias in northern Mali and accelerate the
constitution of what ag Bibi labeled Special Security Units
(USS). Ag Bibi regarded the two measures as complimentary,
with the USS assuming the peace and security duties currently
performed by locally recruited militias. Ag Bibi alleged
that Imghad Tuareg militias led by Malian military Col.
Elhedj Gamou and ethnic Arab militias led by Col. Abderahmane
ould Meydou and Col. Lamana ould Bdou were deeply involved in
drug and arms trafficking. He reported that Col. ould Meydou
led a mixed force of regular military - primarily comprised
of soldiers from northern Mali - and a small group of locally
recruited civilian militiamen. Col. Lamana's Arab militia,
on the other hand, is entirely composed of hand-picked ethnic
Arab civilians with detailed knowledge of northern Mali's
smuggling trade.

6.(C) Ag Bibi estimated that approximately 600 Tuaregs are
waiting to be integrated into the USS. He said the ADC had
designated Commandant Moussa Bah to serve as the USS' senior
Tuareg officer, allying concerns that Tuaregs might attempt
to reinstate chronic military deserter Hassan Fagaga to his
former role as mixed unit commander.

--------------
Comment: Swapping Militias for Mixed Units
--------------

7.(C) Replacing ethnic paramilitary groups with mixed units
under the direct command of the Malian Etat Major seems
rather straight forward. It would fulfill key Algiers
Accords obligations: creating mixed units would presumably
enable Mali to reduce the numbers of southern Malian troops
in Kidal; prevent a security vacuum in the north; give Mali a
much needed pretext for the difficult political calculations
behind disbanding private militia units; and probably save
the Malian treasury money by shifting security
responsibilities away from less prepared southern Malian
soldiers who don't want to be in Kidal to soldiers who are
from the area and know the terrain. The Malian government,
however, seems to be going in the opposite direction by
expanding rather than reducing its military footprint in the
north.

8.(C) One has to give Minister Kone credit for his honesty.
As Minister of Territorial Administration, General Kone's
official responsibilities involve not the implementation of
peace agreements with the Tuaregs but the organization and
administration of local elections. Organizing successful
local elections clearly take precedence over Tuareg
complaints for both Kone and President Toure. Ironically,
many Tuareg rebels are also focused on local elections as
several members of the ADC are running for local offices
across the region of Kidal. This could mean that Tuareg
rebel leaders will be too consumed with their political
campaigns to worry about fellow rebels imprisoned in Bamako
at least until the election results are tabulated. Or, the
election season could provide an opportunity for a
disgruntled rebel to embarrass the central government and
cast a shadow over the administration of the elections in
Kidal by attacking a Malian military patrol.
MILOVANOVIC