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Africa Subsaharan
Gunmen Hit U.S. Military Plane in Mali
2007-09-14
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) - Suspected rebels hit a U.S. military plane with machine-gun fire after it dropped food to Malian troops pinned down in battle this week near the Algerian border, American and Malian officials said Thursday. No one was wounded and the C-130 transport sustained only minor damage, said Maj. Pam Cook, a spokeswoman for the U.S. command in Stuttgart, Germany, which oversees Africa missions. The attack occurred between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning over the village of Tin-Zawatine.

Another U.S. official in Stuttgart, Air Force Maj. John Dorrian, said the plane was the only U.S. aircraft in Mali. It was there for a counter-terrorism training exercise when the rare call for help came from the government, he said. The plane had completed an airdrop of about 14,000 pounds of food when it was hit, Cook said. "We would do this for any partner nation that we're working with when their troops are pinned down," Cook said by telephone from Stuttgart.

It was unclear if the Malian troops' movements were restricted by rebel fire or because the area was heavily mined. Mali's military says delivering food by land to the region is no longer safe because rebels have mined much of the area.

Malian officials gave similar accounts. They called the gunmen "armed bandits," a phrase the government uses for Tuareg rebels active in the far north. Another senior Malian military official said the plane landed safely in the capital, Bamako. He said gunmen used automatic rifles in the attack and that the incident occurred early Wednesday.

Though Mali is often called one of the most stable countries in West Africa, it has seen rebellions several times since the 1990s. The Tuaregs are a semi-nomadic people, part of the Berber ethnic group, and many say they suffer discrimination at the hands of the Bambara-speaking majority.

Tuareg rebels signed a peace deal with the government in July 2006. A Tuareg faction led by Ibrahim Bahanga rejected the deal, however, saying it did not do enough to help Tuaregs. The government blames Bahanga for a new spate of attacks and kidnappings. This month, rebels released 10 of about 30 soldiers they had held for more than week.
Posted by:Steve White

#2  Make the next Herky-bird a Spooky and then get a fix on the bad guys. deliver some lead with the bread.
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2007-09-14 13:47  

#1  They make it sound like the rebels achieved some kind of major accomplishment, hitting a C-130 on a food drop pass. I think I'd be more impressed if it said they hit a dove taking off from a baited field.
Posted by: Glenmore   2007-09-14 08:06  

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