New Azawadi group formed in Mali
Four political and military Tuareg groups active in the north of Mali have announced their dissolution and the formation of the Azawad Liberation Front, during a news conference held on November 30th, according to The Arab Weekly and agencies.
Azawad is the Tuareg name for their territory in northern Mali that has seen an armed insurgency since 2012. These organisations said they had decided to launch a new front to defend their territory in the region.
The developments potentially put the fate of the Algiers Accords, a 2015 agreement to end the Tuareg Mali insurrection, in the balance, especially after Malian authorities suspended the deal.
The Azawadi groups launched a counter-offensive in September against the Malian forces that were supported by Russia’s Africa Corps (formerly Wagner), inflicting heavy losses.
This triggered accusations from Mali that Algeria and Ukraine were providing military and logistical assistance to the Azawadi movements.
The “National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad”, the “Imghad and Allied Self-Defence Group”, the “High Council for the Unity of Azawad” and the “Arab Azawad Movement” have decided to dissolve themselves and establish a unified front under the name “The Azawad Liberation Front”, which claims it aims to liberate the region.
The agreement to unify the movements came during a conference held between November 26th and 30th, whose official spokesman Bilal Ag Sharif confirmed the body is “the sole legitimate representative of the people of Azawad, and it is waging its struggle for self-determination.”
Sharif continued: “The decision to unify the Azawad movements came in response to the call of tribal leaders, imams, opinion leaders, youth and women regarding unity, in addition to other factors that imposed this agreement, most notably the situation in the Sahel, which is characterised by increasing insecurity and instability, the failure of the Bamako government to abide by the obligations contained in the various agreements signed by successive central regimes since the annexation of Azawad to Mali, and the use of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group by the Malian army.”
Since the new military leadership took power in Mali in 2020, following the coup against the elected president, it has characterised fighting terrorism and threats against Mali’s territorial integrity as a justification for its armed operations.
Mali announced the suspension of the reconciliation agreement sponsored by Algeria since 2015 in protest at what it said was Algeria’s interference in its internal affairs. It described the four Azawad factions as terrorist entities that threatened the country’s territorial integrity.
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Algeria has made no comment on the new development. It has strongly pushed in the UN and the African Union for the protection of the Azawadis from military action that violates the reconciliation agreement.
Algiers has also accused Mali and Russian Wagner units of committing massacres and targeting civilians and civilian facilities during those military operations.
Russia’s support for the ruling factions in Mali has increased tensions between Russia and Algeria, who consider Russia’s support as an attempt to bypass its own traditional role and even threaten its strategic interests.
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Malian authorities have yet to react to the new Awazadi alliance. This comes in the wake of bloody confrontations between the Azawad movements and the Malian army supported by Wagner units.
However, there has been a cooling of tensions between Algeria and Mali on the one hand and between Algeria and Russia on the other, and the cooling of armed confrontations on the border strip between Algeria and Mali.
The Arab Weekly, Africa News, The Guardian
