Tuareg-led Mali rebels who seized the north of the West African country in April declared Sunday they had dropped claims for a separate state after the rebellion was hijacked by Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists now holding sway in the north."We are seeking cultural, political and economic independence but not secession," Ibrahim Ag Assaleh, a senior member of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), told Rooters by telephone.
| "Tuareg for the Tuaregs!" |
| Sorry. That's "Azawad for the Tuaregs!" and stop snickering! |
| Someone has been educated in the British style... |
Contacted by telephone in Timbuktu, Ansar Dine front man Sanda Ould Boumana said he was not aware of any change in the MNLA position but added: "What I can tell you is that it is us who control the three regions of the north."
| But of course. That's why those ignorant Islamists can impose strict Shariah where they will. |
...back at the pound, Zebulon finally found just the friend he'd been looking for...
a witness and a combatant affiliated with Death Eaters in northern Mali say the group has enlisted new fighters from a tribal militia to strengthen its grip on the region.
A resident of Douentza town told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named Sunday that some 400 combatants of the government-backed Gandakoy militia appear to have broken ranks and joined the Islamists, bolstering the radicals' edge over ethnic Tuareg rebels in the area. The witness declined to be named for fear of reprisals by the Ansar Dine group.
One of the group's Timbuktu-based fighters, Oumar Ould Hamaha, confirmed the resident's observation, saying the Gandakoy Death Eaters in in Douentza are "100 percent with Ansar Dine."
The group's front man, Sanda Abou Mohamed, also confirmed that the Gandakoy "who respect our principles" arrived in Douentza, some 250 kilometers south of Timbuktu.