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.

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The Event
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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.

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Comment: Another Libyan Folly
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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