ARMED ASSAILANTS ASSASSINATE COL. LAMANA OULD BOU

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 BAMAKO 00000383 002 OF 002 armed militants in major population centers such as Timbuktu. MILOVANOVIC