General and broadly reported questions are not included. Where possible a link is added.
Earlier Mali in the press blogs on:
January, February, April, May, June, July,
***
March 31
***
TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) - Hundreds of Malians are gathering in the
northern desert town of Timbuktu this week in an attempt to reconcile
wounds in this country, which was divided in two for nearly a year by
Islamic extremists who amputated the hands of suspected thieves and
whipped women for going out in public without veils.
After the militants were chased from
the cities by French troops, Malian soldiers killed civilians
suspected of having links to the jihadists on the mere basis of their
ethnicity, prompting a mass exodus of Arab and Tuareg residents who
fled for their lives. More than a year later, some 200,000 have yet
to return from refugee camps in neighboring Mauritania, Niger and
Burkina Faso.
The talks in Timbuktu are being held to
try to get all Malians to reconcile.
"There will be representatives from all the communities in the
region, and we will be highlighting the reasons for the crisis and
what can be done to advance reconciliation and the return to peace to
Mali," said Oumou Sall Seck, the mayor of Goundam, who is
attending this week's talks. "But it's a long process of
reconciliation that starts today."
The fabled town of Timbuktu fell under
the control of al-Qaida militants and other jihadists in early 2012,
who soon began imposing a harsh interpretation of Islamic Shariah
law. A French-led military operation ousted the militants from power
in January 2013, though the area has remained roiled by insecurity.
Remnants of the radical Islamic groups have attempted suicide
bombings and other attacks in recent months.
And amid the insecurity, there has been
little movement made toward seeking justice for the Arab and Tuareg
victims who were killed in reprisal attacks after the Islamic
militants fled.
"Malian refugees are still afraid
of coming back because of the insecurity and the Malian army thinks
they are rebels," said Hamata El Ansary, who is representing the
Malians still in Burkina Faso. "The state should understand
there is no problem between the communities, but there is a problem
between them and the government, and between the communities and
armed groups in the area."
In addition to talks on reconciliation, this week's conference also
will discuss ways to promote development in northern Mali, where a
lack of economic opportunity over generations helped foment the
rebellion. And organizers hope the talks will allow communities to
share their opinions with Mali's government on how to proceed with
reconciliation.
The top issue remains stalled negotiations with the ethnic Tuareg
rebels who have long sought independence for northern Mali, which
they call Azawad. In January, the rebels withdrew from peace talks
with Mali's government, saying they were intended to emphasize
reconciliation without addressing the group's political grievances
including their push for autonomy.
"The state is going to listen to
local groups and take their requests into consideration. It's on this
basis that the government is going to sign agreements with the armed
groups who claim to represent Azawad," said Chirfi Moulaye
Haidara, who is representing the Malian government at this week's
meetings.
The conference will give people a
chance to talk, said Silvia Chiarelli from the Center For Civilians
in Conflict, which is taking part in the discussions.
"It's a good starting point for a
discussion," Chiarelli said, "but putting it into action
will be another thing."
Timbuktu hosts reconciliation meetingsfor Mali, Associated Press International, March 31, 2014
--
US defence services provider and equipment manufacturer Dyncorp
International and its partner OTT Technologies Mozambique have rolled
out the first 16 of 115 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) for use by
African Union peacekeepers in Mali.
OTT Technologies Mozambique is a subsidiary of South African defence equipment manufacturer OTT Technologies, which produces the M26 and M36 variants of the Puma mine-resistant armoured vehicle, several other APC models and military trucks.
OTT Technologies Mozambique is a subsidiary of South African defence equipment manufacturer OTT Technologies, which produces the M26 and M36 variants of the Puma mine-resistant armoured vehicle, several other APC models and military trucks.
The 16 Puma 36 4x4 vehicles were assembled in the southern city
of Matola and driven to the port of Maputo for shipment to Mali two
weeks ago. (…)
Dyncorp rolls out first 16 armouredpersonnel carriers for UN mission in Mali, Defense Web, March 31,
2014 Monday
***
March 28
***
In a resolution (A/HRC/25/L.33) on assistance to Mali in the field of human rights, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Mali with a view to assist the Government of Mali's efforts for the promotion and protection of human rights. The resolution requests the Independent Expert to work closely with all United Nations bodies, the African Union, the Economic Community of West Africa, as well as any other international organizations and Malian civil society, and to report to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth session. The resolution encourages all relevant international actors, including United Nations Member States, United Nations agencies, international financial institutions and other international organization in Mali, to provide technical assistance and support for capacity building in order to promote respect for human rights and reform the justice sector.
Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the African Group in introduction of the draft resolution on assistance to the Republic of Mali in the field of human rights, said the resolution reflected the commitment of the Government of Mali to promote and protect human rights and its efforts to restore peace and stability and the significant improvement in the security situation in Mali. The mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali would be extended for another year.
Italy, speaking on the behalf of the European Union in a general comment, fully supported the resolution, and thanked the African Group for the text. The European Union believed that the situation in Mali had much improved over the previous year, and some positive developments had taken place, including presidential and parliamentary elections in satisfactory conditions. However, human rights violations continued to be committed in Mali, and the European Union was calling on the authorities of Mali to decisively combat impunity.
Mali, speaking as the concerned country, said that the draft text was of fundamental importance to the country. Its aim was to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert for human rights in Mali. As the Minister of Justice had stated, Mali fully subscribed to the re-appointment of the Independent Expert for a further year. As in the past, Mali wished to count on the support of the Members of the Council to ensure adoption by consensus of the draft text. Mali reiterated its gratitude to the entire international community for its constant support.
--
Defensie stuurt toch helikopters mee
met de troepen naar Mali. 3 Chinook transporthelikopters van de
Koninklijke Luchtmacht gaan mee naar Afrika om de medische
evacuatiecapaciteit te garanderen.
Dat heeft minister Hennis-Plasschaert
vandaag laten weten aan de Tweede Kamer. Aanvankelijk zouden de
Nederlanders gebruik maken van de helikopters van andere VN-partners
en civiel ingehuurde heli’s. Omdat met die constructie de medische
evacuatiecapaciteit niet gegarandeerd kon worden, worden de Chinooks
nu alsnog meegestuurd. ‘De risico’s van een ontoereikende
medische evacuatiecapaciteit hebben het kabinet doen besluiten alsnog
drie Chinook transporthelikopters aan het Nederlandse contingent voor
MINUSMA toe te voegen’, aldus Hennis. Door de inzet van de Chinooks
wordt de troepenmacht uitgebreid met 70 militairen. Ook moet de
infrastructuur van het kamp aangepast worden. De toestellen zullen
daarom pas naar verwachting in oktober volledig inzetbaar zijn.
Chinooks voor
medische evacuatie naar Mali, Defensiekrant, 29 maart 2014
***
March 27
***
The Huffington Post, March 27, 2014, U.S. Military Averaging More Than aMission a Day in Africa
***
March 26***
APUTO, March 26 -- South African
company OTT Technologies on Tuesday admitted breaking customs
regulations in the import of components for the UN armored cars
assembled in its factory, and apologized for the confusion it has
caused to the Mozambican public, according to the state news agency
AIM.
The vehicles bearing the UN logo
arrived in the capital city of Maputo last week, causing speculations
that the vehicles were to be used in ending the conflict between
Mozambican government forces and the opposition Renamo gunmen in
central Mozambique.
The Mozambique Tax Authority (TA)
announced on Monday night that the factory, which assembled these
cars in the southern Mozambican city of Matola, had broken fiscal
rules, since some of the components it imported did not obey customs
procedures.
The factory, OTT, is the local
subsidiary of the South African company OTT Technologies, AIM said.
Apart from the neglect of fiscal rules,
OTT also admitted in its statement that they did not receive "prior
authorization from the Ministry of Defense for the circulation of
these vehicles," thus causing a public panic.
The Mozambican government had to
explain that the vehicles were not intended for operations inside
Mozambique, but were to be exported.
Now all the vehicles have been seized
by the tax authorities. Six are in Maputo port, and the rest are on
the OTT premises, where they are awaiting total regularization of
their tax and customs situation.
The operation is funded by the United
States. The U.S. government has agreed to buy armored cars, and other
crucial equipment from seven African countries, including Mozambique,
at a cost of 173 million U.S. dollars, for use by MINUSMA.
(PNA/Xinhua)
S. Africa company apologizes forbreaking rules with UN vehicles in Mozambique, Xinhua, March 26, 2014
--
(...) For FY13, several units below division-level were assigned or
allocated to Combatant Commands. The 48th Infantry BCT, Georgia Army
National Guard, is aligned with U.S. Southern Command and has
deployed teams to several Central and South American countries. The
2d Armored BCT, 1st Infantry Division (2-1), currently allocated to
the United States Army Africa Command, is the first brigade task
organized to the RAF mission. Since March 2013, they have conducted
71 missions in 35 countries. For example, 2-1 helped train a Niger
infantry battalion which was selected to participate in the
African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA). Elements
of 2-1 have also recently deployed to Juba, South Sudan to provide
embassy protection.(...)
JOHN F. CAMPBELL, VICE CHIEF OF STAFF,
FISCAL 2015 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION: U.S. FORCES READINESS; COMMITTEE:
SENATE ARMED SERVICES; SUBCOMMITTEE: READINESS AND MANAGEMENT
SUPPORT, March 26, 2014
--
Action plans for economic and trade cooperation were signed by the
Moroccan exports center "Maroc Export", Casablanca fairs
and exhibitions office (OFEC) and Mali's trade and industry chamber
(CCIM), following the visit by HM King Mohammed VI to Mali in
February 2014.
According to a joint statement, the objective of the agreement, signed by Industry, Trade, Investment and Digital Economy minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy and the Malian trade minister, is to enable Morocco and Mali benefit from synergy of efforts made to promote exports and sectoral strategies.
It also provides for strengthening institutional cooperation and developing promotional activities to boost trade relations between the Moroccan companies and their Malian counterparts, in order to facilitate the mutual development of their business, the source added.
Two follow-up meetings to give concrete substance to this agreement were held, in this regard, in Casablanca in February and March between Maroc Export, the OFEC and the CCIM to set their 2014-2016 action plan.
This plan provides for the collaboration of both parties for the organization of the Bamako International Fair to be held in September 2014, where Morocco will be the guest of honor, said the same source, noting that this collaboration will also involve the organization, in 2015, of Moroccan B to B missions to Mali for the sectors of construction, ICT, and textile and leather, while the food processing and energy sectors will benefit from similar missions in 2016.
According to a joint statement, the objective of the agreement, signed by Industry, Trade, Investment and Digital Economy minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy and the Malian trade minister, is to enable Morocco and Mali benefit from synergy of efforts made to promote exports and sectoral strategies.
It also provides for strengthening institutional cooperation and developing promotional activities to boost trade relations between the Moroccan companies and their Malian counterparts, in order to facilitate the mutual development of their business, the source added.
Two follow-up meetings to give concrete substance to this agreement were held, in this regard, in Casablanca in February and March between Maroc Export, the OFEC and the CCIM to set their 2014-2016 action plan.
This plan provides for the collaboration of both parties for the organization of the Bamako International Fair to be held in September 2014, where Morocco will be the guest of honor, said the same source, noting that this collaboration will also involve the organization, in 2015, of Moroccan B to B missions to Mali for the sectors of construction, ICT, and textile and leather, while the food processing and energy sectors will benefit from similar missions in 2016.
Morocco : Morocco, Mali Sign Action Plans For Economic And Trade
Cooperation, TendersInfo, March 26, 2014 (see)
--
(…) Beyond U.S. participation in EU
missions, U.S. personnel and forces have worked hand-in-hand with EU
counterparts to address crises around the world, particularly in
Africa.
Mali: U.S. engagement with the EU
Training Mission (EUTM Mali) has been important in the development of
U.S. security sector reform planning for Mali and will enhance our
mutual efforts to sustain the Malian armed forces’ efforts to
combat terrorist elements in the country.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: In addition to contributing to the EU Security Sector Reform (EUSEC DRC) mission, the United States has also collaborated with the EU on a logistics training center for DRC security forces.
Somalia: From 2010 to 2013, the United States and the EU Training Mission (EUTM Somalia) partnered to provide military training in Uganda to Somali National Security Forces, with the United States providing logistical support to Somali trainees, in support of the then-Somali Transitional Federal Government’s efforts to fight al-Shabaab. Through the provision of several million dollars of U.S. assistance, the Ugandan military with EU advisors trained several thousand Somalis. The EU training continues in Mogadishu without the need for additional U.S. logistical aid. (...)
Democratic Republic of the Congo: In addition to contributing to the EU Security Sector Reform (EUSEC DRC) mission, the United States has also collaborated with the EU on a logistics training center for DRC security forces.
Somalia: From 2010 to 2013, the United States and the EU Training Mission (EUTM Somalia) partnered to provide military training in Uganda to Somali National Security Forces, with the United States providing logistical support to Somali trainees, in support of the then-Somali Transitional Federal Government’s efforts to fight al-Shabaab. Through the provision of several million dollars of U.S. assistance, the Ugandan military with EU advisors trained several thousand Somalis. The EU training continues in Mogadishu without the need for additional U.S. logistical aid. (...)
Washington: FACT SHEET: U.S.-EU Cooperation on Common Security and
Defense Policy, US Official News, March 26, 2014, For more
information please visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov
***March 25
***
Mali
Gelijktijdig met de NSS is het JIVC
bezig met de inzet voor de Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation
Mission (MINUSMA) in Mali. Het het Joint IV Commando (JIVC) levert
zowel tijdens de opbouwfase als de missie zelf ondersteuning.
Kapitein Peter Visser is daarvan de uitvoerend projectleider en zorgt
dat alle verschillende componenten in één systeem aan elkaar worden
gekoppeld en via een satelliet in verbinding staan met het
datacentrum van het JIVC in Stroe. ‘Tijdens de opbouwfase gebruiken
we daarvoor mobiele satellietsystemen.’ Hij wijst de relatief
kleine zwarte schotels aan, die in een handzame koffer passen. ‘Als
de missie van start gaat, vervangen we die door 4 grote
satellietsystemen met bijbehorende pantsercontainers. Daarin staat
alle apparatuur in een constante temperatuur, vrij van stof en
weersinvloeden beschermd ingebouwd.’ De systemen ondersteunen zowel
in Bamako als Gao een gerubriceerd en ongerubriceerd netwerk. Daarmee
kunnen de militairen via 400 telefoons en 440 laptops zowel geheime
als ‘open’ informatie met elkaar delen.’
Beide operaties kennen, zoals de
meeste, een half jaar voorbereiding vanaf de ontwerp- tot de
testfase. Dirksen: ‘Elke opdracht heeft zijn specifieke wensen en
eisen en geeft ons daarmee steeds nieuwe uitdagingen. We leveren
maatwerk dat ons keer op keer scherp houdt.’
Jopke Rozenberg-van Lisdonk, Digitalesnelweg voor NSS en missie Mali, materieelgezien nr. 2, 2014
--
(…) Today, most of northern Mali is back under state control - at
least as much as it ever was - and a recent defection by prominent a
MNLA leader has left many wondering if the group is on brink of
internal collapse. What a difference two years, an Islamist takeover,
and a French-led intervention make. (...)
Tuareg Fractures Widen As TalksContinue to Stall, ThinkAfricaPress (London), March 25, 2014
--
DAKAR (Reuters) - The leader of a new
armed group in Mali's troubled north said the central government in
Bamako could face another uprising of his Tuareg people if it resists
pressure to launch long-delayed talks on the region's future.
Mali exploded into violence when Tuareg
separatist fighters tried to take over the north in early 2012.
Islamist militants eventually occupied the region, triggering a
French military intervention last year that drove most of the
militants out.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita,
elected in August 2013, is now trying to rebuild Mali, a vast,
landlocked former French colony of 16 million people, with the help
of billions of dollars in Western aid.
But critics say Keita's election
promise to build a strong, united Mali is being undermined by his
failure to start talks with the Tuaregs, a nomadic people in the
north who have rebelled four times since 1960.
The light-skinned Tuaregs say black
African governments in Bamako have consistently excluded them from
power.
"We would like to give talks a
chance and we are asking Bamako to sit down at the negotiating
table," Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh of the Coalition for the
People of Azawad (CPA) told Reuters by telephone from Burkina Faso on
Monday.
"If the Bamako government doesn't
want to suffer from short-term memory, it should recall that we took
up arms many times since 1963 because they didn't listen to us."
RADICALISATION
The U.N. Security Council has also
warned of a radicalisation of fighters unless talks resume.
Ag Assaleh, a leading Tuareg negotiator
for a peace accord sealed last June, launched the CPA this month
after falling out with the main Tuareg separatist group behind the
2012 uprising, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
(MNLA).
CPA members say their group is backed
by 8,000 fighters but is less radical in its aims than MNLA and
respects Mali's territorial unity. A membership list seen by Reuters
showed it had created 30 official posts covering finances, refugees
and human rights.
The CPA sent requests this month to the
Bamako government to resume political talks via the U.N. mission in
Mali (MINUSMA), s official mediator Burkina Faso and via Algeria, Ag
Assaleh said.
"Direct negotiations are
impossible. We need a third party to play the role of referee,"
he added.
A government spokesman declined to
comment on the issue. MINUSMA was not immediately available for
comment.
Mali blogger Thomas Miles said the
CPA's overture would probably appeal to the government and could
break the stalemate.
"I'm sure the government would be
more than happy to make a deal with them (CPA)," he said. "But
the real question is whether he (Ag Assaleh) has the backing of the
Tuareg elites in places like Kidal," he said, referring to a
Tuareg stronghold in northern Mali.
"If he doesn't, then he will
remain marginal."
Emma Farge, Tuareg leader to Maligovernment: start talks or risk new revolt, Reuters, March 25 2014
(Additional reporting by Adama Diarra in Bamako; Editing by Gareth
Jones)
***
March 24
***
Six thousand military personnel from
the Special Units, some commando battalions, an operational brigade
of the army staff command, nine thousand infantry soldiers from the
infantry battalions and the air force participated in a military
operation which began on Saturday night and Sunday in seven southern
locations in the Illizi, Adrar and Tamanrasset Provinces.
A senior security source said that the military operation which might
continue for longer than a week aimed at preventing the infiltration
of armed groups from northern Mali where French and Malian forces
were deployed to pursue the remnants of Al-Qa'idah [in the Land of
the Islamic Maghreb] organization and El Mourabitoune Movement and
also from Libya which experienced an extremely difficult state of
security.
Our sources revealed that the areas covered by the combing and search
operations were considered to be crossing points used by terrorist
groups and smugglers from northern Mali and western Libya,
particularly Azdjer Mountains in Illizi Province, Toundra and Ensline
[as transliterated] in the same province and Erg Chebachibe [as
transliterated], which stretched across Mauritania, Mali and Algeria.
More than 15,000 soldiers are taking
part in the operation; six thousands of whom are from the elite
forces including infantry and special forces battalions.
A senior security source said that the purpose of the ongoing
military operation was to prevent any infiltration or presence of
terrorist groups as a result of the military pressure exerted by the
French and Malian forces on the Salafi Jihadist groups and factions
in northern Mali.
Algerian forces launch major combing
operation in southern provinces, El-Khabar website, Algiers, in
Arabic 24 Mar 14 (via BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political March
25, 2014)
***
March 23
***
(…) What will happen next is dependent on a variety of factors,
especially whether or not the restored Malian government agrees to or
at least compromises with the demands of ethnic tribes. Making the
same mistakes and ignoring these demands may send Mali into a vicious
cycle of chronic violence and instability. The end of 2013 saw
parliamentary elections, with an alliance of parties supporting
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita winning most seats. His nation's
stability will depend on how he responds to the grievances of
different ethnic groups, especially the Tuareg.
Ancient Causes of a Modern Conflict inMali, Harvard Political Review: Harvard University, March 23, 2014
***
March 22
***
West Country soldiers currently stationed in Mali should be joined by
many more to tackle extremist jihadists who have "put down
roots" in that region of west Africa, writes Tristan Cork.
That was the view of a key group of
MPs, who said Britain needed a 'bigger footprint' in the
Sahel-Saharan region of Africa.
Currently, there are no more than 30 soldiers from the
Gloucestershire-based 1 Rifles battalion who last year became the
first ever British soldiers to be stationed in the land-locked desert
country of Mali.
(…) The select committee MPs had
looked into the Saharan region of Africa for the past year.
British troops were right to be committed to Mali, albeit on a small
scale, the report said, and more should follow.
"The UK's diplomatic presence in
the whole area is extremely small relative to other parts of the
world," said Sir Richard.
Should more troops be joining vanguardof West soldiers in Mali?, Western Daily Press, March 22, 2014
--
BRUSSELS, March 22 -- Belgium extend for one year, until May 2015,
its participation in the Training Mission of the European Union (EUTM
Mali) in Mali, the Defense Ministry announced Friday.
The European mission, comprising about
560 people from 23 countries, has been deployed in Koulikoro, a
central place for European instructors to offer trainings to Malian
soldiers.
Belgian protection detachment is composed of 80 troops and has mainly
stationed at the site of the Military Academy in Koulikoro, 60 km
northeast of Mali's capital city of Bamako.
Belgian military tasks include the protection of the infrastructure
and the instructors of EUTM Mali, coaching convoy between Bamako and
Koulikoro, and the provision of a quick reaction force to respond to
incidents, said the Belgian Defence.(PNA/Xinhua)
***
March 21
***
Soumaya Sahla, Mali broedplaats voor expremisme, terrorisme en criminaliteit? Militaire Spectator jrg. 183, nr. 3, 2014 pp. 104-117.
Veel aandacht voor Toearegs. Met heldere overzichten van organisaties.
--
The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens to consider
carefully the risks of travel to Mali, given continuing aspirations
of terrorists to conduct attacks. We strongly warn against travel to
the northern parts of the country and along the border with
Mauritania, particularly in areas that are not patrolled and where
there is little to no security presence. There remains ongoing
conflict in northern Mali and continuing threats of attacks on and
kidnappings of westerners and others. While the security situation in
Bamako and southern Mali remains relatively stable, the potential for
attacks throughout the country, including in Bamako, remains. There
are also ongoing security concerns and military operations taking
place in the northern and western parts of the country. Mali
continues to face challenges including food shortages, internally
displaced persons, and the presence in northern Mali of extremist and
militant factions. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Warning
for Mali dated July 18, 2013. (...)
***
March 20
***
Maputo — Contrary to claims made by
Mozambican government spokesmen, the armoured cars bearing United
Nations insignia were produced, not in South Africa, but in the
southern Mozambican city of Matola.
An item on the website of the United
Nations office in Maputo states that the vehicles were assembled in
Matola, and are the first in a contract for 100 such vehicles.
The 14 armoured cars went from the
Matola factory to the port of Maputo, and from there they will be
exported, not to Somalia or the Democratic Republic of Congo (as the
newspaper “A Verdade” had claimed), but to the join the UN peace
keeping mission in Mali.
The contract to produce these vehicles
is supported by the US State Department, and the company operating in
Matola is Dyncorp International, an American company that specializes
in security equipment.
According to a report in Thursday's
issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”, the US has agreed
to purchase armoured cars for seven West African countries that are
supporting the UN mission in Mali, at a cost of over 173 million US
dollars.
The UN statement contradicts the
bluster of the General Commander of the Mozambican police, Jorge
Khalau, who on Tuesday claimed that the vehicles were in the country
clandestinely and the company manufacturing them was South African
and unregistered. He said the vehicles had been seized in the port,
and that the authorities did not know where their destination, “but
they will have to go back”. He threatened that unspecified
“measures” will be taken.
However, Defence Minister Agostinho
Mondlane saw nothing illegal in the armoured cars. He told reporters
“they are in transit and they are only here to use the port of
Maputo”.
But even Mondlane did not know that the
vehicles had been assembled in Matola, and was under the mistaken
impression that they had come from South Africa.
Mozambique: Armoured Cars WereAssembled in Matola, 20 March 2014
--
For Rutte, the cooperation between the two counties is not limited to
the field of economy. "And of course we work together in other
fields as well. Our armed forces are working closely with one and
another in Mali," he said.
Chinese president's visit to
Netherlands will boost bilateral ties - Dutch PM, Text of report in
English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua, (via BBC Monitoring Asia
Pacific – Political, March 20, 2014)
--
"We have conducted operations over the past weeks," Le Drian said, adding that "about 40" fighters had been killed including "Ould Hamaha, a historic leader of AQIM," or Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Omar Ould Hamaha, known as "Red Beard", was a commander of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and AQIM, armed groups which occupied northern Mali for almost ten months in 2012.
Hamaha, nicknamed "Red Beard" because he regularly died his facial hair with henna, was implicated in the April 2012 abduction of Algerian diplomats in Gao, Mali's largest northern city, claimed by MUJAO.
France says 40 Islamists killed in recent Mali operations, Agence France Presse, March 20, 2014
***
March 19
***
[Presenter] In Mali, soldiers who are close to the ex-junta are being
investigated. These soldiers have been arrested already and charged
with kidnapping, crime and murder and complicity in murder. This is
in connection with the disappearance of the red berets [the
bodyguards of former Amadou Toumani Toure who was deposed by the
soldiers of the ex-junta in the March 2012 coup d'etat following
their revolt] in April 2012. These soldiers are also being questioned
for involvement in the case of financial impropriety. Let us go to
our correspondent Serge Daniel in Bamako for greater details.
[Daniel] This subject is not any secret
to anybody. Just after the 22 March 2012 coup d'etat, the receipts of
the Malian customs were sent to the seat of the ex-junta, Kati, who
is about 15km from Bamako, almost every evening. Investigations have
been opened. Where did the receipts that are assessed at several
millions of CFA francs go to today?
The ex-junta rhymed with business
transactions. Suppliers are now claiming from the Malian state, in
the name of the continuity of the state, about 2.5bn CFA francs
[approximately 53,095,100 dollars]. The case of this foreign
businessman who was abducted, detained illegally and then freed,
would also be recalled, at the time that the junta could make the sun
shine or make it rain. He claimed that he was recalled after he paid
a large sum of money.
It must be said that an official
committee is carrying out currently a thorough examination of the
books of the defunct Military Committee for Monitoring Reforms in the
Armed Forces and 3bn CFA francs have to be justified. The former
leader of this committee has just been transferred from Bamako, where
he was detained, to a place that is 110km from the capital.
Mali probes missing millions thought
embezzled by ex-junta, Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French
0730 gmt 19 Mar 14 (BBC Monitoring Africa – Political, March 21,
2014 Friday)
***
March 18
***
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA March 18, 2014 /
Greg Isenor, President and CEO of Merrex Gold Inc., ("Merrex")
(TSX Venture: MXI) announces:
News Bites Canadian Markets, March 20,
2014
--
(…) Malian Foreign Minister Zahabi
Ould Sidi Mohamed told AFP he had called in ambassador Alexei Doulian
on Monday to explain "the parameters of the stay of an armed
group in Russia".
"He insisted that his country recognises the territorial
integrity of Mali and the approach of his country is not at all a
recognition of the MNLA," Mohamed said. (...)
Mali summons Russian ambassador overrebels' Moscow trip, Agence France Presse – English, March 18, 2014
--
(…) But Bouba Fané, who runs a
business promoting cultural and sporting events in the capital,
Bamako, says the campaign against ATT is politically motivated and
unfair. Fané is now involved with the civil society movement,
'Mouvement Lumière', which has warned strongly against ATT's
extradition and prosecution.
"ATT was the first victim of our
political crisis, and he should be listened to as such," Fané
argues. "There was no reason for the coup against him, and it
was an event that dishonoured the image of our country. There is a
lot of ingratitude out there, a lot of hypocrisy."
Fané says ATT's achievements should be considered against the
stagnation and repression Malians experienced during Moussa Traoré's
23 years in office. "That was when corruption became established
in Mali. That was when enterprises were closing down, when it took
three days to go from Bamako to Dakar by road. With ATT, you think of
things like the roads that were built, the affordable housing, the
campaigns against malaria and polio."
Fané says ATT's role as a protector of
Malian democracy was made clear in March 1991 and vindicated by his
refusal in April 2012 to get involved in a counter-coup. "All
the journalists that write against him, they should remember that he
helped create the freedoms they enjoy now."
Fané rejects charges of military negligence, arguing that "ATT
would never have let an armed enemy into Mali".
He argues instead that political rivals conspired with insurgents on
the timing of the rebellion, and says that France's then-president
Nicolas Sarkozy gave the National Movement for the Liberation of
Azawad (MNLA), the Tuareg rebel movement, both a green light and
weaponry in northern Mali as they came out of Libya. Several analysts
have backed this claim. Fané also argues that ATT paid a high price
for his past support of former Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi.
For Fané, the national assembly's
interest in bringing ATT to justice is heavy-handed. "MPs are
trying to act like judges," he argues. (...)
Mali's Past Leaders Called toAccount, UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (Nairobi), March
18, 2014
***March 17
***
Council conclusions on implementation
of the EU Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel FOREIGN AFFAIRS Council meeting Brussels, 17 March 2014
DEN HAAG - Defensie laadt vandaag een transportschip van de
Verenigde Naties in de Groningse Eemshaven vol met 140 voertuigen en
224 containers. Het schip zal naar verwachting eind april aankomen in
West-Afrika, waarna het materieel naar Mali wordt gebracht voor de
Nederlandse missie, die daar in mei officieel gaat beginnen. Een
woordvoerder van Defensie heeft dat gisteren gemeld.
Op de kade in de Eemshaven staan jeeps en pantserwagens van het type Bushmaster en Fennek en 224 containers, waarin onder meer gevechtsrantsoenen, uitrustingsstukken en reserveonderdelen zitten.
Defensie heeft eerder al wat materieel per transportvliegtuig naar Mali verscheept. De Apache-gevechtshelikopters worden, met de rotorbladen eraf, op een later moment ook met een vliegtuig getransporteerd.
De tocht per schip naar Abidjan in Ivoorkust duurt waarschijnlijk 2 tot 3 weken. Vanaf daar is het nog 2500 kilometer over slechte wegen naar Gao, het basiskamp van de Nederlandse militairen.
Het meeste Nederlandse materieel staat al bijna een maand in de Eemshaven. Het vertrek is vertraagd, doordat het VN-transportschip nog niet beschikbaar was. De verwachting is nu dat de Nederlandse bijdrage aan de VN-missie Minusma in mei operationeel wordt.
Nederland levert ongeveer 80 militairen voor de hoofdstad Bamako en 300 militairen gaan vanuit de noordoostelijke stad Gao aan het werk. Zij gaan vooral informatie vergaren en analyseren.
De commando's die binnenkort naar Mali gaan, rondden midden vorige week hun training af met een grote schietoefening in Duitsland. Zij zijn daarmee klaar voor de missie in Mali.
***
March 16
***
[Presenter] Abou Dardar, an Islamist from northern Mali who is well
known from during the occupation has been handed over to the Malian
security forces. He is one of the most well known and most wanted
Islamists from northern Mali because he reigned over a large area
during the occupation that lasted from April 2012 to January 2013. He
went to the French forces in Gao region who handed him to Malian
security forces yesterday (15 March). Serge Daniel reports from
Bamako.
[Reporter] He is either termed a Malian or Mauritanian. During the
occupation of northern Mali, he never moved around without two
things: a belt full of explosives around the waist and rockets in his
vehicle. Abou Dardar, who was then referred to as Mujao, the Movement
for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, first reigned over the Malian
town of Douenza. At that time, Douenza was a strategic city for the
jihadists. When he left Timbuktu for Gao and vice versa, he generally
passed through this town. Using Douenza as his base, Abou Dardar used
to supply weapons and ammunition to Timbuktu, a city where he also
lived when jihadists controlled northern Mali. When he was in
Douenza, Abou Dardar is remembered as a man who was among the top
local Islamic leaders. After the French military intervention in
January 2013, Abou Dardar took refuge in Gao region.
In the end, he turned himself in to the
French troops, who after brief interrogation, handed him over to
Malian forces.
Jihadist leader reportedly surrenders,
handed over to Malian security forces, Radio France Internationale,
Paris, in French 0830 gmt 16 Mar 14 (via BBC Monitoring Africa -
Political)
--
[Presenter] A delegation of the National Movement for the
Liberation of the Azawad [MNLA] has gone to Russia. The delegation is
headed by the Malian political head of the movement, Bilal Ag
Acherif, was received at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow
where the present president, IBK [Ibrahim Boubacar Keita] visited
before his election. It must be noted that historically Russia has
close ties with Mali. We join our correspondent Muriel Pomponne in
Moscow for the details.
[Pomponne] This first visit of the MNLA
to Moscow forms part of the resolve to lobby the powers that pay
attention to the Bamako government. According to the MNLA, it is
necessary to be heard by Russia which is a member of the United
Nations Security Council.
The visit is also to make the MNLA's
viewpoint known. The then presidential candidate IBK also went to
Moscow at least one year ago.
The delegation was received by the
deputy minister of foreign minister in charge of Africa and the
Middle East, Mikhail Bogdanov.
On the Malian situation, Moscow approved the Operation Serval on
condition that it would be limited in time and expressed satisfaction
that Paris is handing over progressively to a UN force, the MINUSMA
[United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in
Mali]. Russia expressed its preference for Mali's territorial
integrity and is in favour of the implementation of the Ouagadougou
Accords.
Africa no longer enjoys the importance
that it had for Russia at the time of the cold war. Moscow is
nevertheless very committed to the security of North Africa because
the destabilization of this region has effects on areas as far as the
Near East.
Malian Tuareg separatists reportedly
visit Russia on lobbying mission, French state-funded public
broadcaster Radio France Internationale on 16 March (via BBC
Monitoring Africa - Political)
***
March 15
***
DAKAR, Senegal -- A leading jihadist militant close to top figures in
the West African affiliate of Al Qaeda has been killed in Mali's
desert north, two senior Malian military officials said Friday.
The militant, Oumar Ould Hamaha, known
for his flowing red beard, his bloodthirsty statements to the news
media, and his role in kidnapping a Canadian diplomat in 2008, was
killed on March 8 by French special forces in the Timetrine area,
northeast of Timbuktu, the officials said.
(...)
Adam Nossiter, Mali: French Forces Killa Top Militant, Officials Say, The New York Times, March 15, 2014
***
March 14
***
(…) 'We're not involved with the fighting in Mali,' AFRICOM
spokesman Benjamin Benson told me, emphasizing that the U.S. military
was not engaged in combat there. But Washington is increasingly
involved in the growing wars for West and Central Africa. And just
about every move it has made in the region thus far has helped
spread[93] conflict and chaos, while contributing to African
destabilization. Worse yet, no end to this process appears to be in
sight. Despite building up the manpower of its African proxies and
being backed by the U.S. military's logistical might, France had not
completed its mission in Mali and will be keeping troops there to
conduct counterrorism operations[94] for the foreseeable future[95].
Similarly, the French have also been forced[96] to send reinforcements[97] into the Central African Republic (and the U.N. has called[98] for still more troops), while Chadian MISCA forces have been repeatedly accused[99] of attacking civilians. In a sign that the U.S.-backed French military mission to Africa could spread, the Nigerian government is now requesting[100] French troops to help it halt increasingly deadly attacks[101] by Boko Haram[102] militants who have gained strength and weaponry in the wake of the unrest in Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic (and have reportedly also spread[103] into Niger, Chad, and Cameroon). On top of this, Clapper recently reported[104] that Chad, Niger, Mali, and Mauritania were endangered by their support of the French-led effort in Mali and at risk of increased terror attacks 'as retribution.' (…)
Similarly, the French have also been forced[96] to send reinforcements[97] into the Central African Republic (and the U.N. has called[98] for still more troops), while Chadian MISCA forces have been repeatedly accused[99] of attacking civilians. In a sign that the U.S.-backed French military mission to Africa could spread, the Nigerian government is now requesting[100] French troops to help it halt increasingly deadly attacks[101] by Boko Haram[102] militants who have gained strength and weaponry in the wake of the unrest in Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic (and have reportedly also spread[103] into Niger, Chad, and Cameroon). On top of this, Clapper recently reported[104] that Chad, Niger, Mali, and Mauritania were endangered by their support of the French-led effort in Mali and at risk of increased terror attacks 'as retribution.' (…)
Tom Engelhardt, American
Proxy Wars in Africa, antiwar.com Original Articles, March 14, 2014
Informatie. Daar draait het allemaal om bij de Nederlandse bijdrage aan MINUSMA. Het hoofdkwartier van de VN-missie is gevestigd in Hotel Amitié, het grootste logement in de Malinese hoofdstad Bamako. Hier komen alle inlichtingenstromen samen.
Eerste luitenant Wouter Helders, Defensiekrant 05, vrijdag 14 maart 2014
--
VS-commandant voor Afrikaans continent
roemt ‘Nederlandse’ missies
De baas van het Amerikaanse militaire
hoofdkwartier voor Afrika (US Africa Command, Africom) ziet in de
stabilisatieoperaties van Amerikaanse en Europese krijgsmachten in
Mali een voorbeeld van succesvolle aanpak op een verder wankelend
continent.
‘Terreurdreiging Afrika groeit,’
Defensiekrant 05, vrijdag 14 maart 2014
***
March 12
***
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won power with a pledge to resurrect
a "strong and united" Mali from the ashes of a war against
Islamists militants yet six months later he has done little to heal
the wounds of the conflict.
Elected with a reputation as a strongman, Keita has focused on restoring control over Mali's army after a March 2012 coup. The putsch plunged Mali into chaos that allowed Islamists to seize the north, forcing France to intervene in its ex-colony.
Elected with a reputation as a strongman, Keita has focused on restoring control over Mali's army after a March 2012 coup. The putsch plunged Mali into chaos that allowed Islamists to seize the north, forcing France to intervene in its ex-colony.
(...)
Any concessions to the Tuaregs, who
have led four rebellions since independence from France in 1960,
would be deeply unpopular with the black African majority. Tuaregs
comprise less than 10 percent of Mali's 12 million people.
Broken north undermines Keita's pledgeof strong, united Mali, defenceWeb, March 12, 2014
--
[News Story] HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA March
11, 2014 / Greg Isenor, President and CEO of Merrex Gold Inc.,
("Merrex") (TSX Venture: MXI) announces:
Drilling operations have begun at the
Siribaya Gold Project in West Mali. The first phase of RC drilling is
on the Diakha prospect on the southern extension of the Fekola-Boto
trend. The driller is Amco Drilling (UK) Limited, a leading provider
of drilling services across West Africa. (...)
Merrex Gold - Drilling Starts at Siribaya Gold Project, West Mali,
News Bites Canadian Markets, March 12, 2014 ***
March 11
***
[Presenter] A former official of the
MNLA [National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad], Ibrahim Ag
Mohamed Assaleh, has announced his breakup with the movement. He
criticised the strategy of the leader of the movement, Bilal Ag
Sherif, and asserted that he enjoyed the support of other officials
of the MNLA to form a new movement to relaunch discussions with the
Malian authorities. Our correspondent Guillaume Thibault files the
report.
[Thibault] More than a movement,
Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh wants to found a coalition for the Azawad
which will bring together all those who are persuaded that dialogue
with Bamako broke down. He asserted also that he had the support of
60 per cent of the membership of the political bureau of the MNLA,
accusing the leader of the movement, Bilal Ag Sherif, of
interference.
[Assaleh] I say that Bilal does not
facilitate the advancement of matters. Our first gesture as a
dissident group is to stretch the hand of friendship to IBK [Ibrahim
Boubacar Keita].
[Thibault] It would be recalled that
Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh was relieved of his duties within the MNLA
a few weeks ago. Officials of the movement accused him, of being
close to Bamako, especially his discussions with President IBK and
state security officials. The spokesperson of the MNLA, Mossa Ag
Attaher, comments.
[Ag Attaher] We do not record the
departure of any members from the political bureau apart from Ibrahim
Ag Mohamed Assaleh. All the initiatives that were taken in common
agreement with the central government in Bamako, with which we are
still in a state of belligerence, are not well appreciated.
[Thibault] While at the beginning of the year, a delegation of the
MNLA left Algiers in anger because of the lack of understanding with
the authorities in connection with the negotiations on the north of
Mali, Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh announced in the Algerian capital
that he wanted to found his coalition in the next few days.
Former Malian Tuareg rebel official
forms new movement, Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French
0730 gmt 11 Mar 14 (via BBC Monitoring Africa – Political March
12, 2014 Wednesday)
--
95. The Panel’s investigations have focused on the very different dynamics of
illicit transfers, for example, allegations of State-sponsored transfers by air to armed
groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, by land to terrorist groups in northern Mali and
by boat to Egypt, showing how illicit transfers from Libya are reaching various continents and types of security crisis, with different weapons requirements,networks, end users, financing methods and means of transportation.
96. Covering such a broad scope of potential violations presents serious challenges. First, the Panel has limited resources with which to cover a two-way embargo that is breached on a regular basis and covers the entirety of Libya’s territory. The geographical area covered by the Panel’s investigations expands everyyear and includes a large part of Africa, Europe and the Middle East (see para. 282). Second, the insecure environment in Libya and in countries where end users
operate, including northern Niger, northern Mali, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip and Somalia, makes field research and information-gathering very difficult. Third, this mandate has been marked by a notable decrease in cooperation from some Member States, who have not granted requests to visit and to inspect seized materiel. Those countries, in particular Algeria, Chad, Egypt andNigeria, are of great importance to the Panel. They suffer from weaponsproliferation from Libya, either directly or as transit countries. Some have significant internal security capabilities, resulting in successfully intercepted transfers, and have developed a valuable assessment of the situation on the ground.
97. As mentioned in section II.A, above, the vast majority of Libyan stockpiles are under the control of non-State actors, which are the main protagonists in the trade. Most transfers under investigation appear to originate from stockpiles located in Benghazi, Misrata, Zintan and the area of Sebha, where national authorities have very little presence. The size of some shipments and transfers made by air indicate that some Libyan officials may be aware of some of the transfers, or even directly involved.
98. In terms of end users, while various types of individuals and armed entities are benefitting from the dissemination of Libyan arsenals, the majority of areas in question are prone to terrorism and the materiel is likely to enhance the capacity of terrorist groups in areas such as Egypt, Mali, Nigeria, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia and the Gaza Strip.
Final report of the Panel of Experts established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1973 (2013) concerning Libya, United Nations S/2014/106, 19 February 2014
--
Al-Qaeda fighters from Libya, Algeria and Mauritania died during
multiple military raids in Mali over the past fortnight.
"We located a dozen jihadists
handling some rockets near an arms cache in the Adrar," the
French defence minister announced on Thursday (March 6th).
Reaper drones, along with Chad-based Mirage 2000 fighters and Tiger
helicopters from Mali "made it possible to neutralise" the
terrorists in the March 4th operation, Jean-Yves Le Drian told Le
Figaro.
France recently acquired the two
American-made drones. They are based in Niamey, Niger.
The optical resolution of the new
unmanned aerial vehicles is superior to the earlier Harfand model,
allowing military forces to hone in on their targets. (...)
North Africa; Maghreb Jihadists Killed in Mali Airstrike, Magharebia (Washington DC), March 11, 2014
--
Algeria is looking for aerial reconnaissance platforms to track down
various Maghreb-based terrorist groups, drug and arms traffickers and
militants who have taken advantage of post-war chaos in Mali and
Libya to destabilise the Sahel-Maghreb region.
Algeria currently flies Denel Seeker II UAVs and is believed to have ordered one new Seeker 400 system with three aircraft. The Seeker 400 is currently undergoing flight testing.
The North African country has previously expressed interest in General Atomics Predator/Reaper UAVs. It also has six King Air 350ER surveillance aircraft fitted with Gabbiano T-200 radars, Wescam Mx15i infrared cameras and other features for maritime and ground surveillance.
Since war clouds started gathering over northern Mali in November 2012, the Algerian army has deployed more than 12 000 personnel to secure the borders with Mali, Libya and Niger.
Algeria has increased its defence budget for 2014 and is actively seeking new tankers, transports, helicopters and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. Last year Algeria evaluated the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport and Airbus A330 MRTT tanker with an eye to replacing ageing Il-78 Midas tankers and acquiring a new transport aircraft. Algeria asked the two respective companies to conduct demonstrations, indicating the seriousness of these potential contracts.
Algeria is growing its defence spending by 6% through 2017, according to some estimates, as it modernises and re-equips to meet the challenge of insecurity and terrorism in the region.
Algeria currently flies Denel Seeker II UAVs and is believed to have ordered one new Seeker 400 system with three aircraft. The Seeker 400 is currently undergoing flight testing.
The North African country has previously expressed interest in General Atomics Predator/Reaper UAVs. It also has six King Air 350ER surveillance aircraft fitted with Gabbiano T-200 radars, Wescam Mx15i infrared cameras and other features for maritime and ground surveillance.
Since war clouds started gathering over northern Mali in November 2012, the Algerian army has deployed more than 12 000 personnel to secure the borders with Mali, Libya and Niger.
Algeria has increased its defence budget for 2014 and is actively seeking new tankers, transports, helicopters and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. Last year Algeria evaluated the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport and Airbus A330 MRTT tanker with an eye to replacing ageing Il-78 Midas tankers and acquiring a new transport aircraft. Algeria asked the two respective companies to conduct demonstrations, indicating the seriousness of these potential contracts.
Algeria is growing its defence spending by 6% through 2017, according to some estimates, as it modernises and re-equips to meet the challenge of insecurity and terrorism in the region.
Algeria evaluating Chinese CH-4 UAV,
defenceWeb, March 11, 2014
***
March 10
***
Al-Akhbar (Nouakchott) The Azawad Arab Movement has announced that it
will hold an extraordinary conference in the last week of this March
in the Legmeiza [as published] area in the Azawad region in the
northern Mali.
In a press statement it issued, a copy
of which had been received by Al-Akhbar, the Azawad Arab Movement
revealed the points on the agenda of the extraordinary conference,
stressing that it included among other things:
- Analysing the political and security
conditions with all their complexities, and examining the existing
course to settle the conflict.
- Studying the ramifications ensuing from the movement's rejection of
the rally's document which had been signed by the other Azawad
movements in Bamako in the middle of last February under the auspices
of the UN `Minusma' mission [Integrated Stabilization Mission in
Mali].
- Finding a solution to overcome the
difficulties facing the unification of the Azawad national movements'
ranks.
- Analysing and preparing the suitable
conditions for laying down a unified framework to unite all the
forces which actually contribute to the struggle to liberate Azawad.
[Passage omitted: Movement spokesman
appealing to the international community, the UN and France to ask
the Malian armed forces to stop the massacres against the Tuareg and
Arab civilians.]
The movement affirmed its `commitment to dialogue to find a peaceful
and durable solution to the existing conflict between Azawad and the
state of Mali".
Malian Azawad movement to hold
conference end of March Mauritanian source said, Excerpt from report
by Mauritanian independent news agency Al-Akhbar website, 2220 gmt 9
Mar 14 (via BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, March 10, 2014
Monday)
--
March 10 2014 at 03:57pm
By Reuters
By Reuters
--
(...)
Qatar's ambitions are justifiable, but its role was delicately drawn on its behalf. Riyadh allowed Doha's ambitions to run their course. The kingdom encouraged, supported, and suggested that it was right behind Qatar. But as soon as the Qatari role in France suffered a blow due to its funding of terrorism in Mali, Saudi Arabia moved in to take its place. As soon as Qatar's role in Egypt suffered a setback after the Muslim Brotherhood-led regime there was toppled, Saudi Arabia moved in to shower Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with money and support. (...)
Paul Gadalla, Qatar signals strategicshifts as Iranian diplomacy sways EU, Al-Akhbar English, March 10,
2014
--
Spy Gear Shortage in Africa
The US military faces a chronic shortage of surveillance aircraft in Africa needed to track extremists, particularly in the Sahel region, a top general said.
Only 7 percent of the military’s requirements for reconnaissance and surveillance planes, including drones and other aircraft, were met last year in Africa, said Gen. David Rodriguez, head of US Africa Command.
US troops and hardware are not permanently assigned to AFRICOM, which must request aircraft and resources from other regional commands.
American forces have shared intelligence, including images gathered from drone aircraft, with French and African troops deployed in Mali.
The US military faces a chronic shortage of surveillance aircraft in Africa needed to track extremists, particularly in the Sahel region, a top general said.
Only 7 percent of the military’s requirements for reconnaissance and surveillance planes, including drones and other aircraft, were met last year in Africa, said Gen. David Rodriguez, head of US Africa Command.
US troops and hardware are not permanently assigned to AFRICOM, which must request aircraft and resources from other regional commands.
American forces have shared intelligence, including images gathered from drone aircraft, with French and African troops deployed in Mali.
Defense News, March 10, 2014.
--
Marnel Breure, Frankrijk speelt dubbelspel in Malinese achtertuin, Trouw,10 maart 2014
Intereview met schrijfster Aminata Dramane Traoré die niet blij is met de interventie door de Fransen. Ze ziet meer in sociaal-economische ontwikkeling.
--
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
The last 7 company announcements are:
January 21: Resolute Mining Provides December 2013 Quarterly Activities Report
Resolute Mining provided its December 2013 quarterly activities report, reporting total gold production for the quarter of 98,132oz (84,274oz) was achieved at a cash cost of $911/oz ($970/oz); and production at Syama in Mali for the quarter was 43,918oz (28,611oz) of gold at a cash cost of $1,011/oz ($1,193/oz).
Australian Company News Bites - Stock Report, March 10, 2014
***
March 9
***
Traders in the border municipality of Timiaouine, 850 km south of the provincial capital of Adrar, shut down the municipality building in the centre of the town for the second consecutive day amid strict security measures imposed by National Gendarmerie elements for fear of incidents in the area which is still suffering from a decline in security on the border with Mali.
The protests are the second of their kind whereby the protesters urge the local authorities to intervene with a view to expediting the bureaucratic administrative measures imposed by the military authorities deployed in the area because of the decline in security and flagrant spread of smuggling across the border due to the closing of the border crossing with Mali and the Kidal region in northern Mali. The area was the only outlet for traders to sell Algerian dates within the framework of what is known as barter.
The traders said that the decision [closing of the border crossing] caused more than 165,000 t of dates to be wasted after they dried out completely and were not fit for consumption and more than 152 traders who engaged in trading dates had become unemployed.
In a statement to El-Khabar, the traders' representative said that they had written to all the official sides, led by Chief of Staff of the People's National Amy and Deputy Defence Minister Gaid Salah and the president urging them to intervene quickly to rescind the decision, which he described as dangerous, in order to save their families from hunger and slow death. The traders' representative added that such a decision could encourage smuggling and cause heavy losses in trade.
Algerian traders protest about loss of
trade after closing border with Mali, Text of report by
privately-owned Algerian newspaper El-Khabar website on 8 March (via
BBC Monitoring Middle East - Political March 9, 2014)
--
ALGIERS, March 9 -- Visiting Malian defense minister said on Saturday
that his country hopes to strengthen the security cooperation with
Algeria along their borders, which the latter closed earlier last
year due to tensions in north Mali.
"We will revive our security cooperation in border areas which
had been suspended by necessity because Mali could no longer control
these regions," Malian Defence Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga
said after meeting with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.
Maiga has requested Algeria to start exploratory talks in relation to
the crisis in north Mali. He and his Algerian counterpart signed a
minute on military cooperation between the countries.
But Lamamra evoked the issue of the abduction of Algerian diplomats
in north Mali in April 2012. He said that the case was a matter of
"constantly agenda" in Algerian-Malian discussions.
Algeria decided to close its border with Mali in January last year,
as the security situation in north Mali deteriorated after the
intervention of Franco-African forces to chase away extremist armed
groups there.
Later in November Algeria said that
opening the borders in the extreme south was not on its
agenda.(PNA/Xinhua)
***
March 8
***
Amid a surge of Islamic militancy in North Africa, a team of fewer than 50 U.S. special operations troops with a single helicopter arrived at a remote base in western Tunisia last month.
Their mission: train Tunisian troops in counter-terrorism tactics.
The operation was one of dozens of U.S. military deployments in Africa over the last year, often to tiny and temporary outposts. The goal is to leverage American military expertise against an arc of growing instability in North Africa and many sub-Saharan countries, from Mali in the west to Somalia in the east.
The small-scale operations by the Pentagon's six-year-old Africa Command reflect an effort to avoid provoking anti-U.S. militants in the region -- and wariness of getting drawn into new conflicts after 13 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. commanders for Africa face tight limits on the forces and equipment they can put on the ground or in the air, despite responsibility for a vast geographic area.
Classified guidance approved by the White House last fall called for the Pentagon to "deter" terrorist attacks from Africa on U.S. territory, facilities or allies without creating a large military footprint, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified material.
Based in Stuttgart, Germany, Africa Command has only about 2,000 military and civilian personnel assigned to coordinate U.S. defense programs in about 38 African countries, although 5,000 or more U.S. troops are frequently on the continent for operations and training missions.
It's still a tiny fraction of the combined forces under Central Command, which oversees the war in Afghanistan and bases in the Middle East, or under Pacific Command, which has become a Pentagon priority since the White House announced a strategic "rebalancing" of forces to Asia in 2012.
U.S. military commanders working in Africa thus rely on small teams of special operations troops, U.S.-trained forces from friendly African countries, and European allies, especially France, that have stepped up their own military presence and operations.
In Niger, for example, U.S. and French air forces based at an airport in Niamey, the capital, are flying unarmed Reaper drones to gather intelligence. They conduct aerial surveillance across several Saharan countries where some members of the Tuareg minority group have joined Islamist warlords and farther south in Nigeria, U.S. military officers say.
Three violent extremist organizations are the chief U.S. concern. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is active in northern and western Africa, especially Mali, and is considered the greatest threat to Americans.
(...)
David S. Cloud, Presence of U.S. in
Africa growing quietly; Small military teams are deployed to help
deter terrorist attacks and provide training for countries' troops,
Los Angeles Times, March 8, 2014
***March 7
***
Citing vast distances and the small number of available aircraft, he said the "biggest intelligence gaps are out in northwest Africa, that really stretches from northern Mali to eastern Libya."
American forces have shared intelligence, including images gathered
from drone aircraft, with French and African troops deployed in Mali.
Over the past decade, the US military
has built up a logistical network across East Africa and beyond,
securing access to key airfields and ports.
The Pentagon has tended to prefer a light footprint in Africa,
gathering intelligence while relying on allies to take direct action
against Al-Qaeda-linked groups in Somalia, Mali and elsewhere.
For US forces in Africa, spy drones in
short supply, Agence France Presse – English, March 7, 2014
--
Two rockets landed in the environs of Gao in the northern part of
Mali this morning [7 March]. The projectiles fell some kilometres
from the French camp without causing any casualty.
Helicopters of the French Operation Serval forces flew at low
altitude over the town. The base in Gao is often the target of rocket
shots. It should be noted that the town shelters Malian forces,
French soldiers and MINUSMA [United Nations Multidimensional
Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali] troops.
Two rockets land near French camp in
northern Mali, Source: Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French
1930 gmt 7 Mar 14 (via BBC Monitoring Africa – Political, March 8,
2014)
--
[Presenter] About 10 jihadists were killed in the northeastern part
of Mali. The armed group of combatants belonging to Al Qa'idah in the
Land of the Islamic Maghreb [AQLIM, also AQIM] were spotted in the
north by the French forces by virtue of drones. The Serval forces
also deployed air resources to neutralise them. A narration of this
event is given by our correspondent Serge Daniel.
[Reporter Daniel] It was a hard hit. A Minusma - the United Nations
Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali - officer
who was speaking gave details. For a week now, French soldiers of the
Operation Serval had precise intelligence. Some jihadists who came at
least from Libya had established at least one base in the Tigharghar
Mountains and they were seen manipulating arms thanks to the drones
of the French army. The jihadists therefore established themselves
apparently to launch offensives against the positions of the Malian
army, the French army and some UN troops.
That was the reason why the French air
force got into action on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday [5 to 6
March]. About 10 of the jihadists were killed and the others who were
wounded were able to flee more especially as the French soldiers did
not intervene on the ground.
This French intervention is a proof once again that the jihadists
returned to some areas in the northern part of Mali.
Jihadists from Libya behind attack on
troops in northern Mali – radio, Text of report by French
state-funded public broadcaster Radio France Internationale on 7
March 9via BBC Monitoring Africa – Political, March 8, 2014)
***
March 4
***
The United States pays about a fourth of the United Nations' overall
peacekeeping budget, which is at a record $8 billion. As one measure
of budgetary pressure, the United States this year did not set aside
money for the peacekeeping mission in Mali. The American mission to
the United Nations did not respond to requests for a comment on Mr.
Ban's proposal.
There is good reason for United States
officials to worry about the cost and scope of this mission, said
Peter Yeo, executive director of the Better World Campaign, which
advocates stronger American ties to the United Nations.
Somini Sengupta, U.N. Debates the Breadth of a Mission in Africa, The New York Times, March 4, 2014
Somini Sengupta, U.N. Debates the Breadth of a Mission in Africa, The New York Times, March 4, 2014
March 3
***
Han Koch, 'Verdachte militair verdient bescherming,' Trouw, 3 maart 2014
(zie ook Advocatenblad (27/2/14): ‘Militairen verdienen betere rechtsbescherming’)
--
Local sources in the region of 'Tlatit' in northern Mali said gunmen
from a 'Peuhl' group and who belong to the Movement of Tawhid and
Movement of Jihad in West Africa [MUJAO] have, in the past two weeks,
repeatedly targeted Tuareg groups in the region, especially from the
tribe of 'AMGAD;' the tribe of Haj AG Gamou, the first General from
the Tuareg clan and an ally of the government of Bamako.
The source who spoke to Sahara Media
estimated the death toll, resulting from the operations carried out
by the Group, to about 50 people, including women and children in the
region. The group had opened fire on two cars carrying Tuareg
civilians coming from the market, which led to the death of over
thirty people among passengers.
The source said the victims were
civilian passengers, while a number of the fighters of the AMGAD
tribe were killed in a clash with the group affiliated to the MUJAO,
when the AMGAD fighters started tracking down the cars that opened
fire on the civilian vehicles.
One of the AMGAD fighters confirmed to Sahara Media that they killed
a large number of the armed group members affiliated to the MUJAO,
after they tracked down their cars and clashed with them for several
days in a row, and discovered several dens used by them, and arrested
a number of prisoners, including members of the Arabs of Mali and
some elements from Niger. It means the group receives occasional
support from these elements, according to the source.
The fighter, who belongs to AMGAD, in
his speech to Sahara Media, denounced how this militia penetrates the
Nigerien territory and gets out with ease, despite the high security
measures observed along the borders.
The area between the city of Gao and
Niger is experiencing severe tension, as the Tuareg are afraid of
being targeted by the MUJAO under the pretext of tribal wars, as one
of the Tuareg notables in the region said, justifying this by the
fact that the Tuareg had refused to join the MUJAO group and fought
against it in GAO, Manaca, and Tagharengbouet.
A local source said three relatives of
General AG Gamou were killed near the city of Jabak, not far from
GAO, but some eyewitnesses said they had been killed by the Malian
army and were not killed by the Peuhl group affiliated to the Tawhid
and Jihad group in Western Africa.
MUJAO affiliates attack northern Mali
Mauritanian source, Radio Sahara FM, Nouakchott, in Arabic 2100 gmt
27 Feb 14 (via BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, March 3,
2014)
***
March 2
***
Body of Malian junta official discovered near capital, Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French 1230 gmt 2 Mar 14 (via BBC Monitoring Africa – Political).
[Presenter] There is another macabre
discovery in the suburb of Bamako, the Malian capital. A body was
pulled out of the depth of a well in Kati, the town in which the
military barracks of the March 2012 former coup makers is located.
These mortal remains could well be
those of an officer of the red berets, the bodyguards of former
President Amadou Toumani Toure. Our correspondent Serge Daniel files
the following report from Bamako.
(…)
The other cases of the missing red
beret soldiers are pending before they were found in the mass graves
about nearly three months ago. It is the families of these soldiers
who climbed up the crenel on this Sunday [2 March] to say that nobody
is above the law and that it is time for the whole truth.
Nigel Wilson, Saharan squabble; Morocco
and Algeria row over untapped resources, Jane's International
Intelligence Review, march 2014.
The Polisario-controlled refugee camps
at Tindouf in Algeria have allegedly been targeted by recruiters from
AQIM, whose members are able to move unchecked between the largely
ungoverned Algerian-Malian border, close to the Polisario camps.
Residents at the camps are denied citizenship and refugee status by
Algeria, leaving tens of thousands o f marginalised Sahrawi who could
be ripe for radicalisation. In a report to the UN Security Council in
April 2013, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reported the concerns of
regional governments that fighting in Mali could “ spill into
neighbouring countries and contribute to radicalising the Western
Sahara refugee camps”.
Previous Flintlock blogs on Broekstukken:
Military exercises and arms (21 maart 2014)
Flintlock 2014 (21 Jan 2014)
Flintlock 2013 (14 Nov 2013)
Mijn losse-Mali-wapens-flodders en signaleringen ... (14 Jan 2013)
Flintlock Kamervragen (26 Apr 2011)Nederlanders in War on Terror….in Afrika (03 Feb 2011)
Mali, de luwte in de storm (10 Jan 2014)
Voor of tegen (1): Mali (10 Nov 2013)
Terror in Nigeria with arms from Libya (24 Sep 2013)
Terreur in Nigeria met wapens uit Libië (19 Sep 2013)Mijn losse-Mali-wapens-flodders en signaleringen her-en-der (14 Jan 2013)
