Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAMAKO383
2009-06-11 15:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

ARMED ASSAILANTS ASSASSINATE COL. LAMANA OULD BOU

Tags:  PTER PINR PINS PHUM PGOV ASEC ML 
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VZCZCXRO6639
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0383/01 1621541
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 111541Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0450
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0653
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000383 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2019
TAGS: PTER PINR PINS PHUM PGOV ASEC ML
SUBJECT: ARMED ASSAILANTS ASSASSINATE COL. LAMANA OULD BOU
IN TIMBUKTU

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 000383

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2019
TAGS: PTER PINR PINS PHUM PGOV ASEC ML
SUBJECT: ARMED ASSAILANTS ASSASSINATE COL. LAMANA OULD BOU
IN TIMBUKTU

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

1.(C) Summary. During the evening of June 10 armed
assailants riding in several 4x4 vehicles assassinated Malian
State Security (DGSE) officer and Berabiche Arab leader Col.
Lamana ould Bbou at his residence in downtown Timbuktu. His
murder follows a period of increased tensions both between
Tuaregs and Arabs in northern Mali and AQIM's killing of
British hostage Edwin Dyer. On June 11 Radio France reported
that Mali suspects Islamists, presumably belonging to AQIM,
killed Col. Lamana. All avenues of investigation - including
AQIM, fellow Arabs, angered Tuaregs, or something else
entirely - remain open. If AQIM is indeed to blame, Mali
will likely interpret such a brazen killing in the middle of
Timbuktu of a uniformed Malian officer as, in the words of
Radio France, a declaration of war. The assassination, which
occurred while U.S. forces are training Malian military units
in Timbuktu, also shows that armed militants can penetrate
towns like Timbuktu. The assailants apparently immediately
fled the city, and it should be noted that the Timbuktu
remains quiet - if unsettled - following the event.
End Summary.

--------------
Who Killed Col. Lamana?
--------------

2.(C) As news of Col. Lamana's murder spread during the
night of June 10, several northern Malian contacts speculated
that Col. Lamana had been killed by AQIM. Very few groups in
northern Mali possess the ability to carry out what had all
the appearances of a carefully planned and targeted hit in
the heart of Timbuktu. On June 11 Radio France reported that
Mali believes Islamists presumably associated with AQIM
carried out the assassination, perhaps in retaliation for
Lamana's role in the previous capture of AQIM members.

3.(C) Lamana's murder occurred just days after several armed
Berabiche held six elected Tuareg leaders from Timbuktu
hostage for three days in an attempt to rig voting for the
presidency of Timbuktu's Regional Assembly. Some have
speculated that Col. Lamana, or members of the militia he
formed in January 2009 ostensibly to protect Berabiche Arabs
from both Tuareg rebel leader Ibrahim Bahanga and AQIM, were
involved in the kidnapping of the Tuareg officials. The
modalities of the murder and its location in Timbuktu do not
fit the calling card of Kidal based Tuareg rebels. While it
is possible that Tuaregs from Timbuktu could have been
involved, Timbuktu Tuaregs are less militarized than their
brethren in Kidal and this avenue therefore seems unlikely.

4.(C) A third possibility is a killing by fellow Arabs,
perhaps due to disputes over proceeds from smuggling routes
and trafficking. Col Lamana was a man with any number of
serious enemies.

--------------
The Short Happy Life of Col. Lamana
--------------

5.(C) Lamana, the northern Malian equivalent of a crooked
cop, was allegedly deeply implicated in northern Mali's drug
trafficking trade. He also allegedly maintained contact with
AQIM and had been suspected of leaking information to
Salafist militants. His recent emergence as a leader of a
Berabiche militia group in early 2009 further muddied his
role as an agent of the Malian government. Col. Lamana's
position as Berabiche leader and knowledge of northern Mali,
however, apparently secured his tenure within the Malian
DGSE, for whom he was an important link in Timbuktu.

--------------
Comment: Another Line Crossed
--------------

6.(C) Lamana's murder, together with the execution of the
British hostage Edwin Dyer, will further cement northern
Mali's image as a lawless no-go zone for the international
community. It represents the first killing of a Malian
military officer since the execution of Commandant Barka ag
Cheik in April 2008 in Kidal. Although some speculated after
ag Cheik's murder that AQIM may have been involved, this line
of inquiry subsequently fizzled along with the entire
investigation into ag Cheik and his driver Mohammed ag
Moussa's death. If Lamana was indeed killed by AQIM, this
would be the first time AQIM has gunned down in cold blood a
Malian military officer. Such a brazen attack in downtown
Timbuktu also shows that Mali is unable to block the entry of

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armed militants in major population centers such as Timbuktu.

MILOVANOVIC