DECODING ANOTHER LIBYAN SUPPORTED TUAREG

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAMAKO 000262 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2019 TAGS: ASEC PINS PINR PREL ML SUBJECT: DECODING ANOTHER LIBYAN SUPPORTED TUAREG "DISARMAMENT" CEREMONY REF: 08 BAMAKO 00446 Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson, Embassy Bamako, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 1.(C) Summary: On April 16 another group of supposed Tuareg rebels - this time Imghad Tuaregs from the region of Gao - organized a "disarmament" ceremony to symbolize support for resolving Tuareg unrest in northern Mali. The ceremony was organized by Akli ag Iknan in Tessit, south of Ansongo near the Mali-Burkina border. We have not heard from Akli since May 2008 when he led a attack against the Malian Gendarme post in Ansogo (reftel). Akli's disarmament ceremony was hevily supported by the Libyan government and involvd a personal appearance by Libyan Consul Moussa l Koni. None of northern Mali's main Imghad Tuareg power-brokers nor any legitimate Tuareg rebels participated in the event, reinforcing suspicion that the Tessit ceremony was northern Mali's latest Libyan financed publicity stunt. End Summary. -------------- The Event -------------- 2.(U) On April 16 approximately 500 Imghad Tuareg "rebels" handed over their weapons to the Malian government in the town of Tessit, about 30 KM from the Mali-Burkina border. The ceremony mirrored similar ceremonies involving Idnane, Taghat Melet, and Ifoghas Tuaregs held in January and February. In addition to the ceremony's primary organizer, Akli, other participants included the Chair of Mali's National Commission against the proliferation of Small Arms, Col. Sirakoro Sangare, and the Libyan Consul to Bamako, Moussa al Koni. Local media reported that 400 weapons were turned over to authorities, meaning that approximately 100 Imghad Tuareg disarmed without actually disarming. Akli reportedly told the assembled crowd - which also included officials from the Governor of Gao's office and the Prefect of Ansongo, the town Akli attacked in 2008 - that the disarmament ceremony was the culmination of commitments he made to Libyan leader Qadhafi during Akli's March 3 trip to Syrte, Libya. Local and international press reports of the event also showered effusive praise on Qadhafi's efforts toward securing a peaceful resolution to unrest in northern Mali. -------------- Comment: Another Libyan Folly -------------- 3.(C) Libya and Consul Koni have a history of arranging quixotic events in northern Mali, starting with the ill-fated February 2006 decision to open a "consulate" in Kidal despite the apparent absence of any Libyan citizens. The Malian government's decision to close this consulate a few months later, following Qadhafi's tumultuous April 2006 trip to Timbuktu to celebrate the Mawloud and unhelpful commentary during his visit, helped fan the flames of discontent that led up to the May 2006 attacks by the Tuareg rebel Alliance for Democracy and Change against Malian military outposts in the north. The April 16 ceremony in Tessit appears to be Libya's latest attempt to "resolve" instability it helped unleash a few years before. 4.(C) Occurring two full months after northern Mali's real Tuareg rebels disarmed, Akli's ceremony was marked by the conspicuous absence of any senior Imghad Tuareg leaders. Had this been a serious effort to disarm Imghad Tuareg rebels - presuming there ever were any Imghad Tuareg rebels beside Akli to begin with - one would have expected the second vice president of the National Assembly Assarid ag Imbarcaouane, the High Council of Collectivities representative from Gao Azaz ag Doudagdag, and Malian army Colonel turned militia leader Elhedj Gamou to have at the very least attended the event. Col. Gamou's absence undermined any theory that the ceremony in Tessit might signal the first step toward the dissolution of Col. Gamou's Imghad Tuareg militia, which was constituted in 2008 to battle resurgent Tuareg rebels. 5.(C) Tuareg sources have minimized Akli's importance, noting that Akli reportedly promised Qadhafi he would disarm the entire Gourma - a promise well beyond Akli's means as it includes the area from Gao to Timbuktu - in return for substantial financial support. Tuareg contacts also alleged that Akli only used a small portion of the money he received to finance the Tessit ceremony before absconding to Burkina. MILOVANOVIC