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| Africa North |
| Tuareg Rebels Launch New Attack in Mali |
| 2012-01-27 |
| [An Nahar] Tuareg rebels and Malian troops fought over the northern town of Anderamboukane on Thursday, officials said, as the rebels carried out their first major offensive in the region in three years. The Tuareg rebels, many of whom recently returned from fighting in Libya, last week attacked three towns in northern Mali, announcing an offensive as they seek greater autonomy and independence for their nomadic desert tribe. After a morning of heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... , both sides claimed to be in control of the town of Anderamboukane by late afternoon. "Fighting is over in Anderamboukane, the MNLA is in control of the town," said Moussa Ag Assarid, front man for the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), which is demanding autonomy for the nomadic desert tribe. Another front man Moussa Salem said rebels held the town's military camp and had "seized four armored vehicles and other military equipment. We also have eight military prisoners. The Malian army could not resist the force of our attack." A military official speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... from the regional headquarters in Gao categorically denied this. "The Malian army had no armored vehicles in town and we are in control of the situation in Anderamboukane. The attackers are in disarray. Helicopters intervened causing panic among the attackers. The fighting is over," he said. "It is not the time for negotiations, we are defending our country and from now on we will attack them," he added. The town of 3,000 people on the border of Niger is some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Menaka, one of three towns attacked last week by Tuareg rebels. Mali's defence ministry said 45 rebels and two soldiers were killed in two days of fighting last week. The Tuareg claim the military took heavier losses. Anderamboukane is known for hosting a popular Tuareg festival in January of every odd year. The MNLA, formed in late 2011, has taken up the decades-old demand for independence by the tribe, which has fought rebellions in Mali and Niger in the 1960s, 1990s and early 2000, with a resurgence between 2006 and 2009. "This new organization aims to free the people of Azawad from the illegal occupation of its territory by Mali," the organization said in its first press statement in October 2011. |
| Posted by:Fred |