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| Africa North |
| Malian soldiers battle Tuareg rebels in northeast |
| 2012-03-05 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] Tuareg rebels on Sunday were involved in heavy festivities with Malian soldiers in the country's northeast near the border with Algeria, locals and officials said. "Fighting flared on Sunday morning between the Mali army and Tuareg rebels near Tessalit. Heavy weapons are involved," a local official from nearby Kidal told AFP. Malian soldiers, to whom US forces recently dropped supplies from the air, were involved in the fighting, a military official from a neighbouring country said. "Fighting is intense and it's quite likely one of the two sides will gain the upper hand today," the source added. A front man for Mali's army told AFP that "in Tessalit we have been involved in fighting for several weeks against Tuareg rebels, narcos and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)". Tuareg rebels have launched several attacks on towns in the region since mid-January, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. A nomadic community of some 1.5 million people, Tuareg of various tribes are scattered between Algeria, Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and may be in the process of being chased out now... , Libya, Mali and Niger. Mali and Niger experienced uprisings as the Tuareg fought for recognition of their identity and an independent state in the 1960s, 1990s and early 2000 with a resurgence between 2006 and 2009. The return of rebels from Libya, following the fall of Muammar Qadaffy ...Proof that a madman with money will be politely received for at least 42 years until his people get tired of him and kill him... , has added to northern Mali's woes as the region battles AQIM, which has carried out many attacks on troops, the kidnapping of several Westerners and various trafficking operations, including drugs. |
| Posted by:Fred |