MALI ARMY BATTLES TUAREGS NORTH OF KIDAL AS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000047 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2019 TAGS: PINR PINS PTER ASEC PREL ML SUBJECT: MALI ARMY BATTLES TUAREGS NORTH OF KIDAL AS TOURISTS GO MISSING ALONG NIGER BORDER Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson, Embassy Bamako, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 1.(C) Summary: The Malian army clashed with Tuareg rebels led by Ibrahim Bahanga on January 22 near Boughressa north of Kidal. Preliminary reports from the Malian side indicate perhaps as many as 20 to 30 rebels killed and several more taken hostage. Tuaregs reported many fewer casualties, with four rebels simply listed as "missing". As fighting continued in the north, four European tourists departing a Tuareg festival in Anderamboukane on the Malian side of the Mali-Niger border were abducted by unknown assailants. The kidnapping reportedly occurred between Anderamboukane and Bani-Bangou in northern Niger. End Summary. -------------- Battle of Bourghessa -------------- 2.(C) During the ceremony to commemorate Malian armed forces day on January 20, Malian Minister of Defense Natie Pleah claimed that the Malian military had, on January 19, "destroyed" Tuareg rebel leader Ibrahim Bahanga's "principal" base in Tin-Aselak in northern Mali. Tuaregs were quick to point out that Bahanga had abandoned Tin-Aselak many months before and that the Malian army had done nothing more than roll into an empty outpost. 3.(C) On January 22, however, actual combat occurred near the northern town of Bourghessa where the Malian army - or more precisely the paramilitary Ighad Tuareg militia led by the Malian army Colonls Elhedj Gamou and Mohamed Abderahmane ould Meyou - clashed with Bahanga's Northern Mali TuaregAlliance for Change (ATNMC). The fighting comes ater President Amadou Toumani Toure told the country on January 20 that while he remained committed to a peaceful settlement with Kidal Tuaregs, he would use all "operational means" to secure northern Mali. 4.(C) Both the Malian government and Tuareg contacts described the fighting as fierce. Deciphering just how fierce has been more difficult, although it does appear that Col. Gamou and Col. ould Meydou have the upper hand. In the words of one Tuareg source: "There is the Rebellion, the Army, and then the Truth." The Malian army has claimed to have killed 31 rebels, wounded 15 and captured 25. A local newspaper quoted an unnamed source in Kidal that cited 10 killed and 9 captured rebels. Tuaregs claim that only two rebels have been captured and listed four others as "missing." -------------- Four Western Tourists Kidnapped -------------- 5.(C) Meanwhile, unknown assailants captured four western tourists (2 Swiss, 1 British, and 1 German) between the Malian border town of Anderamboukane and the Niger town of Bani-Bangou on January 22. The four had attended a Tuareg festival in Anderamboukane and were on their way back to Niamey when their convoy of three vehicles was stopped. All but one vehicle, with its four occupants, managed to escape. At least some of drivers returned to Anderamboukane on the Mali side of the border to raise the alarm. 6.(C) Like the December 14 kidnapping of the two Canadian diplomats in Niger, the attackers apparently declined to steal the tourists' vehicle. Unlike the case of the Canadians, the tourists' Nigerien driver was either left behind or escaped. The three drivers' escape raises the possibility of an eye witness who could at the very least provide first hand indications of how the attackers were dressed and armed, what language they spoke, and what accents they had. 7.(S) One Malian government official close to both President Toure and the influential Minister of Territorial Administration, General Kafougouna Kone, told the Embassy on January 22 that he expected the captured tourists, like the Canadians, would be passed to AQIM in northern Mali. A generally well-informed Tuareg from Kidal also told the Embassy that he also expected the tourists to end up with AQIM. 8.(C) The Canadians currently have upwards of 20 people in Mali dealing with their own hostage crisis. The British have just one local hire in country. The Swiss may have one person based in Bamako. The Germans generally have a nine diplomats in Mali and are expecting a fly-in team that could arrive in Mali as soon as January 23. BAMAKO 00000047 002 OF 002 MILOVANOVIC