MNLA Creates a transitory authority in Mali
Last week saw an armed confrontation between the MNLA and Ansar Dine in Kidal following the reported failure of an agreement to merge the two groups. The MNLA could not agree to the strict imposition of Sharia.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/MNLA-Creates-a-...
In a statement released this weekend on its website, the MNLA said that this "transitional council of the State of Azawad"(CTEA) consists of 28 members "is responsible for the implementation of the policy (... ) development, defense, security, foreign policy, education, social cohesion and territorial management. "
The CTEA is chaired by Ag Bilal Sharif, the current Secretary General of the MNLA, while his vice president is named as Mahamadou Djeri Maiga.
The situation is getting more fragmented, there is an Arab militia the National Liberation Front of Azawad (FNLA) which does not support independence or Sharia and residents of Timbuktu say they have taken up arms against the islamists.
The group's name is the Patriots' Resistance Movement for the Liberation of Timbuktu(MPRLT) from Songhi and Tuareg tribal elements. Their numbers and armed effectivness are not known.
The MNLA has made contact with Blaise Compaoré President of Burkino Faso and the negotiator for ECOWAS. He is a skilled negotiator in the region and has obtained the release of a number of European hostages. He is perhaps the one person who is able to negotiate betweenthe different factions.
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou has made his frustrations known via TV and radio in France last week with Algeria's hesitancy as the leading armed force in the region to engage militarily with the Tuareg and lead a liberation force to unite Mali. He has also warned the international community that fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan are in the North of Mali to train Tuareg fighters.
The ambassador of Niger to the United States, Maman Sidikou, has called on the U.S. to step up military collaboration with African countries to support a potential intervention in Mali.Niger is concerned that the conflict might spread from its neighbour Mali and is calling for international intervention.
An advance party of 30 European military and civilian security advisors has arrived in northern Niger in a mission brought forward due to deepening fears over the threat of terrorism from neighbouring Mali, Nigerien officials told
Reuters.
Both the US and France have indicated that the United Nations should be the body to initiate this and ECOWAS is putting forward a resolution to the Security to sanction the formation of an African Union force. Whether this will work against the battle hardened forces of the MNLA and Ansar Dine who served as mercenaries for Gaddafi and are skilled desert fighters with an array of heavy weapons is another matter.
There is a feeling that something must be done but no major power other than ECOWAS is volunteering their forces for the task, as yet.The UN facing the catastrophy of Syria has much to consider. A world body which would fight terrorism has been discussed for sometime at the UN. The Bush era of US global intervention is over.
The CTEA is chaired by Ag Bilal Sharif, the current Secretary General of the MNLA, while his vice president is named as Mahamadou Djeri Maiga.
The situation is getting more fragmented, there is an Arab militia the National Liberation Front of Azawad (FNLA) which does not support independence or Sharia and residents of Timbuktu say they have taken up arms against the islamists.
The group's name is the Patriots' Resistance Movement for the Liberation of Timbuktu(MPRLT) from Songhi and Tuareg tribal elements. Their numbers and armed effectivness are not known.
The MNLA has made contact with Blaise Compaoré President of Burkino Faso and the negotiator for ECOWAS. He is a skilled negotiator in the region and has obtained the release of a number of European hostages. He is perhaps the one person who is able to negotiate betweenthe different factions.
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou has made his frustrations known via TV and radio in France last week with Algeria's hesitancy as the leading armed force in the region to engage militarily with the Tuareg and lead a liberation force to unite Mali. He has also warned the international community that fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan are in the North of Mali to train Tuareg fighters.
The ambassador of Niger to the United States, Maman Sidikou, has called on the U.S. to step up military collaboration with African countries to support a potential intervention in Mali.Niger is concerned that the conflict might spread from its neighbour Mali and is calling for international intervention.
An advance party of 30 European military and civilian security advisors has arrived in northern Niger in a mission brought forward due to deepening fears over the threat of terrorism from neighbouring Mali, Nigerien officials told
Reuters.
Both the US and France have indicated that the United Nations should be the body to initiate this and ECOWAS is putting forward a resolution to the Security to sanction the formation of an African Union force. Whether this will work against the battle hardened forces of the MNLA and Ansar Dine who served as mercenaries for Gaddafi and are skilled desert fighters with an array of heavy weapons is another matter.
There is a feeling that something must be done but no major power other than ECOWAS is volunteering their forces for the task, as yet.The UN facing the catastrophy of Syria has much to consider. A world body which would fight terrorism has been discussed for sometime at the UN. The Bush era of US global intervention is over.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/MNLA-Creates-a-...