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Africa North
Tessalit assumes vital importance in Mali's struggle against Islamist rebels
2013-02-05
[GUARDIAN.CO.UK] Timbuktu may have attained mythical status as a fabled desert city, and its sister city Djenné may be renowned worldwide for its mosque -- the largest mud building in the world -- but there is a lesser-known town in Mali that has also cemented itself into local folklore.

For many, Tessalit -- a remote oasis set in one of the harshest stretches of Saharan landscape -- is rich in history, intrigue and rumour. But now it lies at the heart of the country's conflict.

As one Malian told me, the entire war in Mali can be explained by the battle between the Malian state, Tuareg separatists, and Algeria to wrest control of what some believe is one of the most geostrategically important locations on earth.

"There are only three points on earth with this geostrategic importance," said Hamadoun Dicko, a tour guide in northern Mali. "Tessalit is one of them. Whoever controls Tessalit controls the Sahara."

The desert around Tessalit, which sits on the southern end of the desolate Tanezrouft plain and west of the rocky Adrar des Ifoghas mountains, has become the last stronghold for Islamist rebels in northern Mali, pushed out of the major towns they have controlled since last March into obscure desert hideouts.

The French and their partners -- including the US, which has a long history of conducting aerial surveillance in the vast expanse of the Sahara -- believe that the rebels could benefit from arms caches in the region to restock and regroup.

"The mountains around Tessalit are a natural place for the rebels to hide," said Andrew Lebovich, a Dakar-based researcher on the Sahel and north Africa. "This is an area where they have been hiding out for decades; there are caves and caches up there. It is totally impossible to know exactly what is going on there."
Posted by:Fred

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