The situation in the Sahel Sahara and especially in Mali is moving fast. As a consequence, an increasing number of countries, organizations and individuals are paying more and more attention to the Sahel Sahara. To contribute to the understanding of the Touareg question the Centre4s has prepared the following summary.
January 17: The first attack of the armed rebellion of the MNLA on Menaka;
1 to 2 February: Demonstration of military spouses in the military garrison of Kati a town, 15 km from Bamako, against the government as well as the Tuareg and Arab communities;
February 8: The remote small town of Tinzawaten, a key passage on the Sahel traffic road, falls into the hands of the rebels. That same day, an ECOWAS Summit held in Abuja, voted it support to the Malian government and the integrity of its territory;
February 21: For the first time, AQIM fighters are reported alongside the forces of the MNLA, at Aguelhoc by an investigation panel established by the Malian government;
March 10: The religious leaders of Mali called for peace and dialogue to address the crisis. The northern city of Tessalit, with its international airport, fell to the MNLA;
March 21: Mutiny by soldiers in Gao and Bamako followed by the announcement of a military on 22. The coup leader, Captain Haya Amadou Sanogo, chairs the National committee for the recovery of democracy and the restoration of the rule (CNRDRE);
March 29:ECOWAS learders condemn the coup and appointed President Blaise Compaore of Burkina as its mediator;
30 to 31 March: The towns of Kidal and Gao are taken by the rebels;
April 2: ECOWAS imposes embargoes and sanctions against the Junta. Algeria and Mauritania support these measures;
April 4: Fifty political parties and civil society organizations refuse their support to the Junta, which is however supported by radical political groups;
April 5: The Security Council calls for ceasefire and a return to democracy. It had already condemned the coup at a meeting on March 26 calling for the « restoration of the constitutional order; »
April 6: The MNLA proclaimed the independence of the Azawad and announced a unilateral ceasefire, adding that its goals were reached;
April 7: ECOWAS suspends sanctions against Mali;
April 12: Dioncouda Traore, President of the National Assembly, becomes interim President of the Republic in accordance with the Malian constitution. A 12 months transition is decided by Ecowas;
April 17: Cheikh Modibo Diarra is appointed Prime Minister. He forms a Cabinet with no known Touareg or Arab representative;
April 27: ECOWAS decided to send Peace Keeping troops in Mali;
April 30: The Junta and its military supporters, known as « Green Berets » claims to have foiled a coup led by paratroopers called « Red Berets », said to be closer to former President A T Toure;
May 2: Captain Sanogo rejects a 12 months Transition period and the deployment of Peacekeepers decided by Ecowas;
May 4: AQMI and Ansar Dine members proceed to destroy most revered historical religious sites in Timbuktu. Islamists combatants are reported pouring in from Maghreb states and Pakistan,
May 18: The National Assembly in Bamako votes a law providing blanket amnesty to the Junta members;
May 20: The Junta accepts that the interim President stays in office until a new President is elected as decided by Ecowas Summit. However on May 21, the interim President, Traoré is victim of a violent aggression in his office by opponent to that longer Transition. He is flown to Paris for treatment;
May 23: Islamists of Ansar Dine and Aqim blew up the Martyrs Memorial in Timbuktu built in honor of those who died fighting dictatorship;
May 27: The MNLA and Ansar Dine announced the signing of an agreement between the two parties on the independence of the Azawad. On June 1, the MNLA rejected the terms of that agreement;
June 8: The UN, the AU and the Ecowas call for the end of the Junta and its ruling CNRDRE. The AU will request the UN support for a military intervention to help Mali to recover its territorial integrity. At a meeting on June 13, the UN Security Council discussed the issue again with the AU. On June 16, the Ecowas made the same request to the UN Security Council;
June 12: At a meeting in Abidjan, Ecowas Forces commanders discuss the deployment of an initial 3000 troops to Mali. This figure could be tripled;
June 18: Ansar Dine delegates met with President Compaore the Ecowas mediator in Ouagadougou; is reported;
June27: Violent fighting between the MNLA and islamists of the MUJAO in Gao. The MNLA is expelled from the city;
June 28: Ecowas Summit on Mali in Yamoussoukro and devoted in particular to avoiding the entrenchment of the crisis;
June 30: Radical islamists started the destruction of the tombs of saints in Timbuktu, a city included in UNESCO list of world historical sites;
Meantime the radicals have wowed to continue the destruction of the remaining holly sites
Reminder of recent developments:
1960: Independence of Mali
1962 to 1964: Touareg rebellion;
1990-1992: Rebellion of northern populations ending by the Agreement of Tamanrasset (January 1991) and the signing of the National Pact (April 1992);
1996: Flame of Peace in Timbuktu for reconciliation;
2006: Rebellion of the Movement of May 23 leading to the Algiers Agreements;
October 16, 2011: Creation of the MNLA as a result of the fusion of the National Movement of Azawad and a radical group the ANTM of the late Brahim Bahanga;
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Based in Nouakchott, the Centre’s area of intervention is the band of land stretching from Mauritania down to Guinea along the Atlantic coast and, across the savannah, to Chad and Sudan. The main issues it addresses are: defense and security of the Sahel Sahara; armed violence and terrorism; competition for oil, gas and uranium; irregular migrations within and outside the region; trafficking in human, cigarettes, drugs, etc; environmental and renewable energies. The main priority is to help the region and its international partners – public and private, as well as those from Civil Society organizations, Universities, Forums, and others Groups, to collaborate further in order to ensure security and prosperity of the Sahel