[Diplomacy] Mali Crisis, Taureg rebels, French Troops,

Algeria Hostages: Background, implications explained

Mrunal
http://mrunal.org/2013/01/diplomacy- mali- crisis- taureg- rebels- french- troops- algeria- hostages- background- implicationsexplained.html
Februray 2, 2013

[Diplomacy] Mali Crisis, Taureg rebels, French Troops, Algeria

Hostages: Background, implications explained
What is Mali?
Landlocked country in West Africa
Capital: Bamako.
Got independence from France in 1960

Players in this crisis?

Faction
Rebels

Teams

Islamist

Secular
Tuaregs
Government

1. Ansar Dine

What do they want?

They want to impose Islamic law across Mali

1. AQIM

Same. They earn ca$h by kidnapping

westerners and drug-traffic. Theyre the
richest among all rebels.

1. MNLA

Earlier they wanted to create a separate

nation for Tureg people, but now they just
want autonomy.

1. Mali
Government

1. French
Government

Who are the Tuareg?

Nomadic people who live in Sahara and

doesnt have enough firepower to match

rebels.

Sent troops because it Malis official army is

ill-equipped to fight the rebels.

Nomadic people who live in Sahara and

Sahel regions of Libya, Algeria, Niger,
Burkina Faso and Mali.
In medieval times, they used to run Camel
caravans across Sahara- trading gold,
spices, salts and dates.
Sometimes called the Blue People
because they mostly wear dark blue /
indigo colored traditional garments.

What is their problem?

We reside in Northen Mali.

T uareg areas

While capital city = Bambako = located in

South.
Government sits there and does nothing for our development.
Were light skinned. And all good positions in Government and bureaucracy manned by
black people.
We are not getting any jobs, education etc.
Villages getting displaced due to mining activities, and the subsequent land-degradation
=bad for our farms, cattle.
So Tuareg people had been rebelling against the South since a long time.

Gaddafi Angle: 2011

Colonel Gaddafi (of Libya) had been hiring Tuareg tribesmen in his army.
2011=Uprising in Libya, Colonel Gaddafi gets killed.
So these Tuareg tribesmen (from Libyan army) formed their own new rebel group called
MNLA.
They took possession of powerful weapons, surface-to-air missiles etc. from Gaddafis
fallen army and decided to come back home.
They came back home (Northern Mali) and started fighting against the Mali Government.
(+Other Islamic militants were also active in the region so they got help.)

Azawad: Jan-April 2012

From January 2012 onwards, there is heavy fighting between rebels and Mali army, in the
Northern areas of Mali.
But the army did not have powerful weapons. so They had to flee.
Thus MNLA rebels took control of Northern Areas of Mali and declared it a free country
called Azawad. (in April 2012)
However, this Azawad country has not been recognized by UN or any powerful country
(US/China etc.)

Mali President overthrown: March 2012

So far you know that

Tuareg people = unhappy.
Some of them served in Libyan army but came back home after death of Gaddafi.
(+brought heavy weapons.)
These rebels fought against Mali army and threw them out of Northern Mali.
So, now Mali army= unhappy.
Army blamed President Toure for this fiasco.
Why? Because USA was giving truckload of ca$h to President of Mali to fight off the
Islamist terror groups.
But this President was just using that money for his personal aiyyaashi (=buying sports
cars, Rolex watches, diamond studded i-phone1,2,3,4,5, consuming desi liquor and you
get the picture.)
Thats why Mali army did not have good weapons, tanks, gadgets to fight with the rebels..
One army officer named Captain Sanogo gathered the soldiers and staged a coup
against this President and threw him out. (Although later this Captain handed over power
to next President Traor.)
So right now Mali army is divided into factions one of them supports the old ousted
President Toure and wants to bring him back in power.

Entry of French Troops: Jan 2013

While all this mess was going on, the extremists groups from Northern Mali, started
capturing the areas in Central Mali region. (such as Timbuktu)
New President panicked and called up French President:

New President of Mali

please help us. Our army is ill-equipped, divided into factions.

Weve neither the weapons nor the morale to fight these rebels.
So come help us.

French President
Francois Hollande

I cannot allow a terrorist state to emerge in Mali.

Ungoverned spaces in Mali could provide a launch-pad for Jihadist
attacks in Europe and elsewhere.
But USA, UN or African Union are doing nothing!
So Ill send my own French army to fight against these terror
groups.

AQIM (Extremist
group)

@French President, buddy youre making a grave mistake.

Now we will retaliate by striking back at the heart of France (Paris).
You just wait and watch.

Although some

Although some
experts believe
France is playing big
brother only to get
its hands on Gold
and Oil reserves of
Mali. (similar to USA
in Iraq)

French Of f ensive in Mali

Back to Northern Mali

You know that MNLA= Tuareg rebels who previously served in Gadhafis army. They had
returned back to Northern Mali.
But their influence in Northern Mali started declining after they ran out of money (spent in
fighting against Mali Army, paying salary to mercenaries and for running propaganda.)
Hence, many of MNLA fighters left the gang and joined other Islamist groups. (like Ansar
Dine, AQIM etc)
Why? Because the Islamists are far richer, earning truckload of cash by kidnapping
Westerners for ransom and trafficking cocaine, marijuana and cigarettes.
So right now, AQIM (Islamist group) has control of Northern Areas, while MNLAs grip has
declined.
Given this changed power equation, now the MNLA says, We support the French
intervention, all we want is autonomy- we dont want a separate nation for Tuareg people.
We are secular, we are not associated with AQIM or other hardcore Islamist groups.

What is AQIM?
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM)
something like a franchise of Al-Qaida + variety of hardcore groups operating in this
region.
It offers a typical mix of jihadist activity + criminality (drugs, weapons trades, kidnapping,
ransom etc.)

Implications of Mali Crisis?

#1: Afghanistan of Africa
If Bamako (Official capital of Mali) falls in the hands of Rebels then it would be like a
repeat of the Talibans rise in Afghanistan in 1996= If the extremists take the capital, its
game over.
The whole region will become safe-haven for terrorists, drug traffickers, hostage takers
(like recall Kandahar episode).
This will further destabilize neighboring countries of Niger and Mauritania.
Therefore, international community must prevent Mali from turning into the Afghanistan
of Africa.

#2: Iran wants to play big brother

Iran holds the chair of NAM (Non-Aligned movement).
Iran has offered to play role of negotiator between the Mali Government vs Rebel crisis.
Iran wants to use this opportunity to expose double standards of USA on Syria vs. Mali
and to increase influence in this region and generate good will (by showing that it doesnt
support extremist element.).
Irans official statement regarding Mali crisis We are against extremism. But we are also
against the (western) interference in the domestic affairs of countries and military
intervention.

#3: African Union (AU)

African union= Secretariat in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In late January 2013, African Union held a summit to get a solution for Mali crisis.
French wants AU to quickly deploy soldiers. but so far only about 1,000 troops have
arrived, and only few of them have taken up front line positions, where actual fighting is
going on (between Rebels and French).
Chad has promised to send 2,000 soldiers and Burundi has confirmed its readiness to join
without giving exact number of soldiers.
So this Mali crisis will be an acid test of African Unions ability to tackle regional crisis.

#4: USA
U.S. says, If African Union (AU) sends forces in Mali, well support them with logistics. But
we cannot fully engage in Mali until a new government is elected and the political crisis is
solved.
Experts believe President Obama wants to spend his second (and last) term fixing the
domestic issues (economic crisis) so Democratic party can win next Presidential election.
Therefore, he is not much interested in pursuing aggressive foreign policy agenda
anymore. Besides America has already burned enough cash on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Algeria Hostage Crisis

In early January, 2013, France sent its troops to Mali.
Just a few days after that, some Gunmen with al-Qaeda links attacked a gas plant in
Algeria.
They took the workers as hostages (including foreign nationals.)

Gunmen in
Algerian
plant

Weve attacked this plant because of following reasons

1. We want French troops to leave Mali ASAP.
2. Algerian Government has allowed France to use its airspace while
bombarding our gangmembers in Mali.
3. Algerian Government has jailed our esteemed terrorist leaders. They
must be freed.
Otherwise well shoot down the hostages and blow up this gas plant.

Algerian
Government

This is pure ****** man, youve been planning for this attack since last two
months, long before French decided to enter in Mali!
Youre just using French angle to get attention of international media.
Otherwise Your main objective is to get ransom from foreign Governments
and to free your terrorist leaders from our jails.
But guess what? Well not agree with your demands.

Climax of Algerian Hostage Crisis

The stand off between terrorists and Algerian forces continued for 4 days.
Algerian Government did not allow foreign special forces (US/UK) to enter or help in this
hostage crisis.

Finally Algerian Governments decided to attack those terrorists instead of continuing

negotiation with them.
This led to death of 29 militants and 38 civilians, including six British nationals. (=bad
publicity and international criticism.)
Later, Algerian Government gave statement, Sorry we made some mistakes in handling
this hostage crisis. But when facing terrorists, its not just words that solve the problem.
Action has to be taken! By the way, weve found some evidences that Canadian nationals
were involved in this act of terrorism.

Mock Questions
Q1 Correct Statement
1. Mauritania is a landlocked country
2. Mali shares borders Libya and Morocco.
3. Strait of Gibraltar separates Italy and Morocco.
1. Only 1 and 2
2. Only 2 and 3
3. Only 1 and 3
4. None
Q2. Incorrect Match

Place

Located in
Mali

1. Timbuktu

1. Addis Ababa

Rwanda

Mali

1. Bamako

South Sudan

1. Juba

Q3. Incorrect Match

1. Tuareg

North and West Africa

East Africa

1. Masai

1. Pygmy

1. Zulu

East Africa

Central Africa

North Africa

Interview
1. Has Algeria done the right thing by not negotiating with the terrorists? If youre the PM of
India and such crisis hostage-happens, what will you do?
2. Has France done the right thing by sending its troops in Mali?

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