Northern Mali: fighting between army and a group of Tuareg rebels

"The rebels are not in the city. They shoot from a distance and the Malian Armed Forces return fire too. No one is  in town," said an inhabitant now in Bamako to AFP.

 Another  independent source said: "Both sides are fighting for control of  of the city" Ménaka city located in  north-eastern Mali, near the frontier ¨with Niger.

According to a post by Exclusive Analysis Ltd published on africanarguements.com, on 15 October 2011, around 400 Tuaregs who fought for Colonel Gaddafi in Libya returned to Mali’s northeastern region of Kidal. These tribesmen included mercenaries recruited during the 2011 insurgency in Libya and others who joined the Libyan Army after the 1990-1995 Tuareg rebellion in Mali.

Concerned about the security implications, the government set up returnee camps at Takallote, 35 km from the city of Kidal, pledged resources to facilitate their socio-economic reintegration and entered into disarmament negotiations with the leaders of the disparate groups involved. However, the failure of some of these negotiations, resulting in the deployment of elite Army counterinsurgency units in the north, particularly around Gao and Menaka, and tribal rivalries within the Tuareg community, are increasing the risk of a new Tuareg rebellion.

The Economist reported on the situation last month, but discounted any serious conflict because of the disunity of the Tuareg tribes the Ifogha and Chamanamasse are competing with the Imghad and it said that the numbers of Tuareg involved are comparatively small. Jeune Afrique has also commented on the situation in Northern Mali.

Agency reports say that Algeria has sent troops into Mali to assist the Malian armed forces. Algeria has its own Tuareg population in the South and the headquarters of the regional armed forces for the Sahel is headed by Algeria and based in Tamenrasset. Sonatrach the Algerian energy company is engaged in operations in the north of Mali in the Taoudeni basin.