Mali Tuareg rebels deny Qaeda links: El Watan
Mali’s main Tuareg rebellion denied accusations of links with al-Qaeda’s North African branch in an interview published by an Algeria paper Friday.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Mali-Tuareg-reb...
“Comparing us to AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) is preposterous,” Moosa Ag Atter, a spokesman for the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), told the El-Watan newspaper.“The MNLA shares no interests nor policies with this terrorist organization,” he told the French-language daily El Watan, AFP reports
A Malian government probe into a January rebel attack on the town of Aguelhok found that summary executions took place that bore the hallmarks of AQIM.
“The clothing of most of these bearded fighters and the way unarmed soldiers were executed testify to AQIM’s involvement in the fighting alongside the MNLA” in Aguelhok, the special inquiry commission said.
France had also reported on February 13 that several summary executions of soldiers and civilians took place in Aguelhok, a town in northern Mali which the Tuareg rebels conquered in late January.
Mossa Ag Atter returned the accusation however, hinting at ties between Bamako and AQIM.
“So long as Mali occupies our territory, so will AQIM,” he said. “AQIM was purposely established by Mali to maintain confusion.”
Bamako has in the past been accused of not doing enough to stamp out AQIM, which operates in a vast desert expanse straddling Algeria, Mali, Niger and Mauritania.
In recent months however, the government has stepped up its campaign against the group, which has kidnapped or killed several Westerners on Malian soil and dealt a body blow to the country’s tourism industry AFP concludes.
Hama Ag Sid Ahmed affirmed that the MNLA wanted direct negotiations with Bamako ove the future of Azawad.
"This policy of exclusion and systematic stigmatization of people of the North has created fractures within Malian society and fueled resentment. It has led to deep and serious divisions between communities", he said. He felt that the Tuareg community was descriminated against and pointed to attacks against Tuaregs in the South of Mali.The MNLA pursued an armed rebellion beacuse Bamako refused to negotiate.He affirmed that the MNLA remained open to negotiations and that the current status quo was unsustainable. He claims that the MNLA is winning the fight against the Malian army and capturing a number of towns and ten Malian tanks. He acknowledges the displacement of 126,000 people and the dire humanitarian situation.
A Malian government probe into a January rebel attack on the town of Aguelhok found that summary executions took place that bore the hallmarks of AQIM.
“The clothing of most of these bearded fighters and the way unarmed soldiers were executed testify to AQIM’s involvement in the fighting alongside the MNLA” in Aguelhok, the special inquiry commission said.
France had also reported on February 13 that several summary executions of soldiers and civilians took place in Aguelhok, a town in northern Mali which the Tuareg rebels conquered in late January.
Mossa Ag Atter returned the accusation however, hinting at ties between Bamako and AQIM.
“So long as Mali occupies our territory, so will AQIM,” he said. “AQIM was purposely established by Mali to maintain confusion.”
Bamako has in the past been accused of not doing enough to stamp out AQIM, which operates in a vast desert expanse straddling Algeria, Mali, Niger and Mauritania.
In recent months however, the government has stepped up its campaign against the group, which has kidnapped or killed several Westerners on Malian soil and dealt a body blow to the country’s tourism industry AFP concludes.
Hama Ag Sid Ahmed affirmed that the MNLA wanted direct negotiations with Bamako ove the future of Azawad.
"This policy of exclusion and systematic stigmatization of people of the North has created fractures within Malian society and fueled resentment. It has led to deep and serious divisions between communities", he said. He felt that the Tuareg community was descriminated against and pointed to attacks against Tuaregs in the South of Mali.The MNLA pursued an armed rebellion beacuse Bamako refused to negotiate.He affirmed that the MNLA remained open to negotiations and that the current status quo was unsustainable. He claims that the MNLA is winning the fight against the Malian army and capturing a number of towns and ten Malian tanks. He acknowledges the displacement of 126,000 people and the dire humanitarian situation.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Mali-Tuareg-reb...