Tamkoutat massacre
Tamkoutat massacre | |
---|---|
Part of Inter-communal conflicts of the Mali War | |
Location | Tamkoutat and nearby areas, Ménaka Region, Mali |
Date | February 6, 2014 |
Target | Imghad Tuareg civilians |
Deaths | 31-35 |
Injured | 6 |
Perpetrator | Fulani militants (per MINUSMA, Human Rights Watch, Reuters, and the Malian Ministry of National Reconciliation) MOJWA (per Malian Ministry of Defense, Malian Ministry of Internal Security, and the MNLA) |
No. of participants | 12-20 |
- v
- t
- e
Tuareg rebellion (2012):
- 1st Ménaka
- 1st Aguelhok
- Tin-Hama
- In Emsal
- 1st Andéramboukane
- 1st Tessalit
- 1st Niafunké
- 1st Tinzaouaten
- Tinsalane
- 1st Goumakoura
- 1st Tessit
- Sudere
- 1st Kidal
- 1st Timbuktu
- 1st Gao
- 1st In-Delimane
- Tagarangabotte
- 2nd Ménaka
- Khalil
- In Arab
Foreign intervention:
- Operation Serval
- AFISMA
- Chadian military intervention
- EUTM
- MINUSMA
- Konna
- 2nd Gao
- Diabaly
- 3rd Gao
- 4th Gao
- Ifoghas
- Panther
- 5th Gao
- In Khalil
- Timetrine
- 1st Kidal attack
- Imenas
- Tin Keraten
- Tigharghâr
- 1st Djebok
- 2nd Timbuktu
- 6th Gao
- 3rd Timbuktu
- 2nd Kidal attack
- 1st Ber
- Hamakouladji
- 1st Anéfis
- 2nd Anéfis
- Fooïta
- Douaya
- 2nd Tessalit
- Amazragane
- 1st Araouane
- 3rd Kidal attack
2014
- Kondaoui
- Tamkoutat
- 1st Ametettai
- Dayet
- Inabohane and Ebahlal
- 2nd Kidal
- 2nd Aguelhok
- 3rd Anéfis
- 1st Tabankort
- 2nd Indelimane
- 2nd Ametettai
- N'Tillit
- 2nd Tabankort
2015
- 1st Nampala
- Ténenkou
- 3rd Tabankort
- Tabrichat
- Bamako restaurant
- 4th Kidal attack
- 1st Léré
- Tin Telout
- Nara
- Takoumbaout
- Sama Forest
- 1st Gourma-Rharous
- Sévaré hotel
- 4th Anéfis
- Tiébanda
- Bamako hotel
- 5th Kidal attack
- 1st Talahandak
2016
2017
- 6th Gao
- 1st Boulikessi
- 2nd Gourma-Rharous
- Foulsaré Forest
- 1st Dogofry
- 1st Serma Forest
- Bintagoungou
- Kangaba
- Inkadogotane
- 2nd Djebok
- Takellote
- 4th Timbuktu
- Tin Biden
- 3rd Indelimane
2018
- 4th In-Delimane
- Youwarou
- Soumpi
- Inaghalawass
- 2nd Araouane
- Akabar
- 5th Timbuktu
- Aklaz and Awkassa
- 1st Talataye
- Tabarde
- 1st Boni
- Inabelbel
- Soumouni
- 2nd Dogofry
- Ndaki
- 2nd Ber
- Farimake
- Tinabaw and Tabangout-Tissalatatene
- Abanguilou
2019
- Koulogon
- 2nd Serma Forest
- Taghatert and West Inekar
- 4th Aguelhok
- Elakla
- Dialloubé
- Diankabou
- 1st Dioura
- Ogossagou
- Tiésaba-Bourgou
- Guiré
- Sobane Da
- Gangafani and Yoro
- Fafa
- 2nd Boulikessi
- 5th In-Delimane
- 4th Tabankort
- 3rd Ménaka
- 1st Wagadou Forest
2020
- Dioungani
- Sokolo
- 1st Tarkint
- 1st Bamba
- 2nd Talahandak
- Bouka Weré
- Bankass
- Coup
- 1st Farabougou
- Sokoura
- 3rd Boulikessi
- Tadamakat
- Niaki
2021
- Wedding airstrike
- Boulikessi and Mondoro
- 2nd Boni
- 2nd Tessit
- 5th Aguelhok
- Coup
- 2nd Tarkint
- Karou and Ouatagouna
- Dangarous Forest
- Nokara
- Bodio
- Mopti
2022
- Archam
- Danguèrè Wotoro
- Mondoro
- Ménaka
- 2nd Andéramboukane
- 3rd Tessit
- 2nd Talataye
- Tadjalalt and Haroum
- Moura
- Hombori
- Mopti Region
- Diallassagou
- Bandiagara
2023
- Markacoungo
- Diafarabé and Koumara
- Kani Bonzon
- 5th Timbuktu
- 3rd Ber
- Tombouctou and Bamba
- Bourem
- 2nd Léré
- 2nd Dioura
- 2nd Bamba
- Kidal Region
- 4th Kidal
- 2nd Niafunké
- Labbezanga
- 2nd Farabougou
2024
On February 6, 2014, between thirty-one and thirty-five Imghad Tuareg civilians were massacred by Fulani militants that may have been connected to the jihadist outfit Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) in and around Tamkoutat, Ménaka Region, Mali.
Background
In late 2013, after jihadist forces were expelled from Ménaka Region, tensions rose between Tuaregs and Fulani. The first outbreak of conflict between the two groups occurred on November 7, 2013, between Djebok and Tamkoutat, when twenty-five carnival workers coming from Djebok were arrested and robbed of four million CFA francs. Survivors stated that the assailants spoke Arabic in a Tamacheq accent and claimed to be from MOJWA.[1]
On the night between November 18 and 19, a seventy-year-old man and a three-year-old girl were murdered in the village of Intakabar. A seventy-year-old woman and a ten-year-old girl were injured in the attack. The victims were all relatives of El Hadj Ag Gamou, the commander of the Imghad Tuareg GATIA militia. Gamou assessed that the perpetrators of the murders were Fulani MOJWA militants.[2] In response to the attack, Imghad Tuaregs assassinated a notable from Djebok. Clashes then erupted between Fulani and Tuaregs leaving several Tuaregs dead and over fifty Fulani dead, but little is known about them.[3] Fifty-three Fulani civilians were then massacred by Tuaregs in Tin-Hama on November 18.[4]
Abdoul-Aziz Souleymane, a local Fulani leader, stated that the reason many Fulani in the region joined MOJWA was less out of jihadism and more to obtain weapons to defend their livestock from Tuareg raids. Souleymane clarified that MOJWA's ranks also include Songhai and Arab fighters as well.[5] New tensions broke out between Fulani and Tuaregs on February 4. Fulani civilians stated a Fulani MOJWA member was arrested by Tuaregs and sent to MINUSMA in late January, and that three Fulani civilians were killed by Tuaregs on February 2.[6] This recent spate of violence was not connected to the Mali War, and came as a result of long-standing disputes over arable land for grazing.[7]
Massacre
The massacre took place twelve to twenty kilometers from Tamkoutat, a village in the commune of Anchawadi. Around 2 pm on February 6, after the carnival in Tamkoutat, two vehicles carrying Tuareg merchants were stopped by armed Fulani militants, who were travelling via motorcycle.[8] The militants then attacked the Tuaregs who tried to resist, killing twenty six Tuaregs and injuring six others.[1] Among the dead were one woman and one child. One of the Tuaregs' vehicles were burned, and the other was taken away.[8] The attackers fled, and then killed three people nearby.[1] Further south, the same attackers kidnapped and later killed two men at a nomadic camp near the Nigerien border.[9]
Aftermath
Casualties and culprit
Fulani militants
Oumar Maiga, an official from Gao, and Assarid Ag Imbarcaouane, a former official from Gao, stated thirty Tuaregs were killed in the massacre.[9] MINUSMA peacekeepers who inspected the site the day after the massacre stated that twenty-four people had been killed and four injured, including one seriously. The wounded were evacuated to the hospital in Gao.[10] The Malian Army, on scene, also arrested several suspects. MINUSMA, in a press release, attributed the massacre to inter-communal conflict.[10]
On February 10, MINUSMA spokesperson Olivier Salgado stated that the United Nations considered the massacre a result of inter-communal violence. Human Rights Watch stated that local sources contradicted General Samaka's claims of MOJWA being responsible.[11] Malian Minister of National Reconciliation Cheikh Oumar Diarra affirmed reports of an inter-communal conflict revolving around land use between Tuaregs and Fulani.[12] Azawadian media stated thirty-five Tuaregs were killed in the massacre, and accused Fulani militants backed by the Malian government for the attack.[13]
MOJWA
The Malian Ministry of Defense stated on February 7 that around a dozen attackers killed thirty Tuareg civilians. The Ministry of Internal Security, however, stated that the attackers were MOJWA and that the victims were not all Tuaregs. General Soungalo Togola, the communications officer for the Ministry of Internal Security, attributed this to his visit with the survivors at the hospital in Gao, in which he affirmed that none of the wounded were Tuaregs. Togola also stated the final toll was thirty dead, including the attacks nearby and at the nomadic camp. Seven others were injured according to him, and one of the wounded succumbed to his injuries later.[14] Ministry head Gen. Sada Samaka corroborated Togola's claims, and accused MOJWA of the massacre.[7]
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) reported on February 7 that twenty-five civilians were killed, excluding the other attacks included in other tolls, and the MNLA accused MOJWA of the massacre. The MNLA also claimed to have pursued the jihadists, and fought them on February 7. MNLA executive Moudet Ag Saci revised the toll to thirty-five killed later.[15] RFI stated residents near Djebok accused MOJWA of the massacre.[16]
Reprisal attacks
Clashes broke out on February 7 around twenty kilometers from the Nigerien border between the MNLA and MOJWA following the Tamkoutat massacre.[17][16] The MNLA claimed to have confronted the group over the course of February 8, and destroyed one of their bases on the morning of February 9.[17] MOJWA likely found refuge in Inafous, Niger, where they have a base.[17][3] The MNLA claimed that they lost one fighter and one other was injured compared to six jihadists killed and two Arab jihadists captured.[17] The MNLA claimed to then conduct operations between Ménaka and Labbézanga. An official from Ansongo confirmed the fighting, and stated it was between Imghad Tuaregs and Fulani.[18] A Nigerien merchant was then killed by MOJWA on February 27 in Tamkoutat.[19]
References
- ^ a b c "Gao : carnage a Tamkoutat". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ "Mali: au moins deux membres de la famille du général Ag Gamou tués". RFI (in French). 2013-11-21. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ a b "31 touaregs tués dans le Cercle de Gao". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ "Nord-Mali : La communauté peule indignée par les rébellions touarègues". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ "Mali: un leader peul plaide l'apaisement après les affrontements". RFI (in French). 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ "Affrontements intercommunautaires dans la région de Gao : 24 morts (Minusma), une trentaine de morts selon le gouvernement". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ a b web.archive.org https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/monde/20140207.REU0896/violences-ethniques-au-mali-une-trentaine-de-touaregs-tues.html. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ a b "Mali: trente Touaregs assassinés près de Gao". RFI (in French). 2014-02-07. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ a b "Nord du Mali: au moins 30 Touareg tués dans des violences intercommunautaires". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ a b "La MINUSMA condamne les évènements de Tamkoutat (Communiqué)". www.malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ web.archive.org https://web.archive.org/web/20240000000000*/http://www.985fm.ca/international/nouvelles/mali-les-terroristes-ne-seraient-pas-en-cause-dan-299626.html. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "Mali: le conflit intercommunautaire dans le Nord est une priorité". RFI (in French). 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ "Trente-cinq civils touaregs assassinés à Tamkoutat - TAMAZGHA". www.tamazgha.fr. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ "Des civils tués au Nord-Mali : le gouvernement dément un conflit intercommunautaire et une " ethnicisation " des victimes". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ "MNLA : les auteurs de ce massacre sont des alliés du Mujao". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ a b "Mali: l'attaque contre des Touaregs dégénère en affrontements intercommunautaires". RFI (in French). 2014-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ a b c d web.archive.org https://web.archive.org/web/20240000000000*/http://www.mnlamov.net/. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "Un cadre de l'administration à Ansongo décrit une situation explosive dans la localité : " Il y a le risque que les militaires touaregs de l'ethnie Gamou s'impliquent dans le conflit intercommunautaire…"". malijet.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ maliweb (2013-03-01). "maliweb.net - Mali : un Nigérien aurait été tué par le Mujao à Tamakouta". maliweb.net (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-26.