Mali: What’s the Deal and How it Affects Niger
Ok. So, the quick and dirty of what’s been happening in Mali since early 2012 and how it might affect Niger:
The Tuareg, a traditional nomadic-pastoralist Berber people of the Saharan interior, have long sought political independence in the north of Mali. To the Tuaregs, the area in the north of the expansive West African country is known as Azwad. In early 2012, a group of Tuaregs calling themselves the “National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad” (MNLA) took control of the region. Because junior officers in the Malian government believed that this was able to happen due to Presidential weakness, President Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup d’état, leaving the Malian constitution suspended, and the government even more unstable, disorganized, and without a united political voice. Thus, the government was unable to push back the Tuareg insurrection, or really exert any force in the area whatsoever.
Meanwhile, the Tuareg group (the MNLA) was backed by the Islamist group Ansar Dine, which had its own agenda. Soon after Azawad (northern Mali) was proclaimed independent, three Islamist groups including (1) Ansar Dine (meaning “defenders of faith”), (2) the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), and (3) al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) began imposing their vision of the north – a strict Islamic state. They began implementing strict Sharia law (which, among many other regulations, is well known for severe punishments such as amputations following theft, or stoning as a punishment for adultery). At this point, the MNLA, a largely secular group, began opposing these Islamic groups, and by the summer of 2012, the Tuaregs had entirely lost control of Azwad.
The Islamist groups, the most powerful of which being al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), were well funded (largely from drug trafficking and ransom paid for kidnappings) and well armed (much of which came from the Tuarges who were armed by Quadafi’s own arsenals during the Libyan conflict).
While it was largely thought that the Islamists would not try to expand their territory (listen to Adam Nossiter of the New York Times speaking on the subject on NPR’s Fresh Air), in early January, they did. Islamist forces pushed south, capturing the city of Konna. At this point, the international community, which had until then been biding its time, took note. The Islamists appeared to be making their way down to the Malian Capital, Bamako. The French President Francois Hollande responded to a request from the government of Mali and became militarily involved.
As of late January, along with the French several African countries have committed troops (while other Western countries including the U.S. have committed logistical and financial support). Niger, which shares a large border with northern Mali, is serving as a staging ground. There has been heightened security in the region. Some are concerned that due to highly porous borders, the Islamist fighters might see traveling through Niger as a safer route. Others are concerned that al-Qaeda will continue or even increase kidnappings in Niger in order to fund their war effort (the NYT estimates that AQIM has received $90 million dollars from kidnapping ransom). But, this is only speculative. For the moment, people’s everyday lives are largely unaffected. If this changes, I’ll let you know.
———-
(for french speakers)
The Washington Post explains the conflict to those of you who might be asking, “wait, what’s Mali?”
Wikipedia’s coverage of the Northern Mali Conflict