Naharnet

Fed-Up with Northern Rebellion, Mali Soldiers Revolt

Scores of Malian soldiers mutinied on Wednesday, firing into the air and seizing the state broadcasting station amid anger over what they say is lack of equipment to stamp out a Tuareg rebellion.

Dozens of soldiers created panic on the streets of Bamako, with people running in all directions, as shots rung out wildly. They then occupied the Malian Radio-Television Office (ORTM) at around 1630 GMT, also firing off rounds inside the building.

As employees were ushered out of the building radio and television services went off the air.

The streets of Bamako were deserted after office workers rushed home.

"We are tired of the situation in the north", gripped by a Tuareg rebellion, a soldier told Agence France Presse among the melee.

The anger erupted several hours earlier when newly-appointed Defense Minister Sadio Gassama visited the Kati military camp some 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the capital to appease tensions over the ongoing insurgency.

His efforts failed and soldiers protested, firing shots into the air as they demanded proper weapons with which to face the rebels who have seized several towns in the northern triangle of the bow-tie shaped nation.

"We want ammunition to go and fight the Tuareg rebels. Enough is enough," a corporal at the Kati camp told AFP.

"The defense minister came to Kati, but he failed to convince us."

The corporal, who would not give his name, said the soldiers were not seeking the departure of President Amadou Toumani Toure.

"He is our president, but he needs to fix things."

Anger has grown in recent weeks over the government's handling of the conflict in which the Tuareg attacks have caused up to 200,000 people to flee.

While no official death toll is available, many soldiers are believed to have died in the fighting. When the town of Aguelhok was captured, up to 100 soldiers and civilians were summarily executed, France said in February.

That same month, the wives and families of those fighting the rebels took to the streets of the capital and several other cities, and some protests turned violent as they denounced what they said was the government's weak response.

Civilian Tuareg homes and properties were vandalized and angry protesters also vented their anger at other light-skinned communities such as the Arabs or Mauritanians.

Tuareg rebels, organized under the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) set up late last year, in mid-January launched successive lightning strikes against northern towns.

In some cases soldiers abandoned their barracks in smaller towns, leaving them to the rebels, as they withdrew to defend larger targets in the vast, desert zone.

The Tuareg rebellion is part of a decades-old bid for independence, and this offensive, the first since 2009, was boosted by the recent return of heavily-armed men who fought in Libya for slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

One group fighting alongside the MNLA is the Islamist group called Ancar Dine, Defenders of Islam, which has demanded the imposition of Islamic Sharia law across Mali -- a demand not supported by the larger movement.

On March 13, Ancar Dine released a video showing images of dead soldiers as well as about 30 who were taken prisoner.

A nomadic community of some 1.5 million people, Tuareg of various tribes are scattered between Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Niger and Mali.

Mali and Niger experienced uprisings as the Tuareg fought for recognition of their identity and an independent state in the 1960s, 1990s and early 2000, with resurgence between 2006 and 2009.

The country, in recent years, has also battled Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which the government has accused of involvement in the northern uprising, and which is currently holding 13 western hostages.

The current turmoil comes as Mali prepares for presidential elections on April 29, held alongside a constitutional referendum.

Source: Agence France Presse


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/34174