The Wild Wild North

The security situation is more of a nuisance than threatening. There are rumors constantly about bandits and carjackings. And then as I go out of my house on Sunday night, I start to hear gunfire, but think it is just firecrackers. I get to the next block and see three tracers whiz through the air. I pause. I ask someone. And the woman, running past, goes willi ka koy hugeydo! Get inside! I went a block back and saw a broussey truck zoom past on the gravel road. Still more gunshots. But people are outside, breaking the fast, saying it is just stupid kids playing with firecrackers. I get to where I normally eat dinner and they are afraid to go out. We conclude it is the rebels. We find out later, yes, some armed Tuaregs came into town looking for someone. The gendarmes arrested 3 men and rounded up many others. I don’t think this is an escalation. It’s unrest, yes, but this is the Wild Wild North.

Some articles from the Malian press, my comments are in red.

Security: Confrontation in Fafa; The army attacks the Gandaïso

Le Républicain - Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Yesterday afternoon a clash took place between the Malian army and the Gandaïso. There have been deaths on both sides. The army, determined to get their hands on the alleged head of the armed group called the Gandaïso, carried out thirty arrests in Fafa.

The alleged head of the Gandaïso, Mr. Amadou Diallo, is a native of Fafa, a village located 75 kilometers south of Ansongo on the national highway between Gao and Niamey.

According to our sources in Gao, the closure of the "Chateau" district (sector 3) by the army on Sunday resulted in the arrest of six people. Hence, the army has embarked on a concerted effort to apprehend the head of the armed group (most people think what happened in Gao and the Gandaïso are unrelated).

Reached by telephone, concerning the question of the existence of militias in Mali, the Director of Information and Public Relations for the Malian Army (DIRPA), Colonel Abdoulaye Coulibaly, was firm in saying that "militias do not exist in Mali. Everything must be done to restore peace. The army will never accept the existence of a militia. It is not possible to support the existence of a militia in our country." Concerning Gao, Colonel Coulibaly maintains that "the army is now patrolling the area and there is no question that people will be allowed to create disorder." (Really? Wouldn't you say shooting off guns in the middle of the city creates disorder?)


Gao: Army fire breeds panic

By B. Daou - Le Républicain - Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The "Chateau" district of Gao (sector 3) was cordoned off by the Malian army at sunset, Sunday, September 14 after gunfire, which terrified the population for nearly an hour (it was a few rapports followed by a few more periodically for 10 minutes and then a few more isolated rapports 30 minutes later; and, like I said, people kept going about their lives, breaking the fast, listening to music/the radio, and even playing at the foosball tables in the road). The army was, we learn, looking for members of the Gandaïso militia, which resulted in two arrests (in the article above didn't they say the arrested 6? And I heard it was only 3...). During the day yesterday (Monday), it was learned that all of the gunfire of the previous day was a diversion; firing in the air which created a panic (not really, all the people I talked to thought first of hooligans with firecrackers before rebels with guns) among the population of Gao. Has the existence of militias in the north of Mali become a reality? (It has been a reality since the rebellion. They just haven't been active).

Sunday evening, it was panic in Gao, just at the time of the breaking of the fast: gunfire was heard. The "Chateau" sector had been identified by the military and the army covered the city of Gao.

The population, meanwhile, was relieved of their fear, the fear of a rebel attack. Or was it the Gandaïso, which took the city? (I seriously dislike the politics of fear in these two paragraphs--southerners will read this and panic not knowing what actually happened! One neighborhood where 3-6 men/soldiers shot guns off into the air is NOT taking the city).

According to some comments in the town of Gao, it was the security service in the region of Gao, headed by the governor, who took part in the gunfire.

For others, it was a threat of attack that targeted the residences of the Director General of the Agency for Integrated Development in the North (ADIN), Aklinin and the President of the Chamber of Agriculture of the Gao Region, Mr. Mohamed Ag Hatabo. The armed troops included elements of Ganda Koy (or Gandaïso), according to the rumors resulting from the panic.

In this confusing situation, there have been arrests. According to our sources, citing the names of two persons who were reportedly arrested. It is Mr. Aliou Maïga, a former policeman and native of Labbezanga (near the Mali-Niger border) and a custodian of the Norwegian Church in Gao (whose name was not known).

In the "Chateau" area of Gao, which was cordoned off, families have been searched and throughout the night, the army patrolled the city of Gao, our sources indicate.

It was yesterday that the population realized that the shootings did not occur by chance, but was the result of the army itself that shot into the air, indicated a source in Gao. "They created the attack in order to carry out the arrests," says one.

According to our source, at the time of shooting, (i.e. the alleged attack), the head of military operations, Colonel El Hadj Gamou, was camped at the time with his family in the stadium, which is located on the way out of town. This makes people believe that the attack was only a simulation (A local NGO rep who works with good governance agrees that it was simply a posed "attack" to help the governor, who is currently a colonel, attain the status of general. He even said that they used some firecrackers as distraction, hence the confusion of whether it was gun fire or not).

In the opinion of some, this military operation created a psychosis and leaves the door open for the settling of scores. Sources indicate that the head of Gandaïso (Mr. Amadou Diallo) is the target.

Activities resumed yesterday during the day, but after 6:00 p.m., people hid in their homes, leading to a de facto curfew (the 100s of people I passed while out in the evening weren't exactly hiding). According to the Governor Amadou Baba Touré, he participated on Sunday, September 14, in Ouatagouna (80 kilometers south of Ansongo, on the road to Niger), along with the Minister of Environment and Sanitation, Mr. Alhassane Ag Agatham, at the launching of an activity to protect the environment.