Mali sends in army reinforcements after Tuareg attacks
BAMAKO (AFP) — Bamako sent army reinforcements to central Mali Tuesday after attacks by Tuareg rebels on several army posts left one person dead, according to officials in the West African nation.
"The troops that were sent as reinforcements have arrived in Diabaly. Everything is under control and we are in pursuit of the armed bandits," a senior Malian officer posted in Diabaly told AFP.
The officer, who would not be named did not say how many reinforcements were sent, but witnesses on the ground reported "a lot of soldiers in the vehicles" heading for Diabaly, in the central Segou region.
Early Tuesday a military base in Diabaly was attacked by Tuareg rebels who made off with army supplies.
The attack left one person dead but it was unclear if the victim was a soldier or one of the Tuareg attackers.
Around the same time in the northern town of Aguel'hoc, the army returned fire from rebels but no one was injured.
Despite a 2006 peace pact between the Malian government and the Tuareg rebels, there have been several attacks on army posts by small armed Tuareg groups in recent weeks.
One of such group, led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, has kidnapped some 30 Malian soldiers in attacks in recent months.
Bamako is in talks with Ag Bahanga's group and according to observers here, several other Tuareg groups are launching attacks against the army in the hopes of benefiting from the talks.
Asked who carried out the attack in Diabaly the Malian officer spoke of "armed bandits" intent on "sabotaging the current peace process."
Intalla Ag Alghabas, a local politician from the northern town of Kidal told AFP Tuesday that Ag Bahanga was still keeping the truce he announced in late April.
"He (Ag Bahanga) told me he had nothing to do with the attacks and that he is still keeping the truce," said Alghabas, a member of Adema alliance for democracy in Mali, one of the biggest parties in parliament here.
"The people who carried out the attacks are the enemies of the peace process. I also spoke with others who are close with Ag Bahanga. They said they had nothing to do with that (the attacks)," he added.
Mali, a former French colony, is a vast, landlocked impoverished nation on the southern edge of the Sahara.
