MALI: Mali "at war" after Tuareg separatists abduct 30 civil servants

Record ID: 375746

  • Title: MALI: Mali "at war" after Tuareg separatists abduct 30 civil servants
  • Date: 18th May 2014
  • Summary: KIDAL, MALI (MAY 17, 2014) (REUTERS) MINIMUS KIDAL CAMP SEEN FROM HELICOPTER TRANSPORTING PRIME MINISTER MALIAN PRIME MINISTER MOUSSA MARA ARRIVING AT CAMP REGIONAL FLAG (AZAWAD) ON POSTER AT TOWN ENTRANCE / DRIVING SHOT VARIOUS OF MALIAN ARMY SOLDIERS SHOT FROM PRIME MINISTER'S CAR DRIVING TOWARDS TOWN OF KIDAL SOLDIERS IN COURTYARD OF GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, AUDIO OF HEAVY SH
  • Embargoed: 2nd June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mali
  • Country: Mali
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAE3IPLUMCAKIETB6TTCLHYMUD1
  • Story Text: Mali's prime minister said on Saturday (May 17) that his country was at war with Tuareg separatists after the rebels attacked a northern town he was visiting, killing soldiers and abducting around 30 civil servants.
    Some shooting had already broken out before Prime Minister Moussa Mara arrival in Tidal early on Saturday and he was forced to take shelter in an army base as rebel fighters attacked and seized the regional governor's office.
    Clashes continued throughout the day with sporadic shooting eventually easing during the night.
    "Taking into account this declaration of war, as this action cannot be seen differently, the Republic of Mali is henceforth at war. We will bring the appropriate response to this situation that will not be left as it is," Mara told a Reuters reporter inside the base overnight.
    Mara was visiting Tidal for the first time since his appointment last month to revive long-delayed talks with northern armed groups.
    Mali, a former French colony, was thrown into turmoil in 2012 when al Qaeda-linked Islamists took advantage of a Tuareg-led rebellion and seized control of the country's north.
    A French-led military operation, known as Serval, drove back the Islamists last year but now the Mali government's focus has turned back to the Tuareg rebels.
    A spokesman for the MNLA rebel group claimed control of the town of Kidal on Sunday (May 18). During the day Mara moved on from Kidal to another northern town, Gao.
    At least one soldier was killed and 23 others were wounded in the clashes which now threaten to sink efforts to find a peaceful solution to long cycle of rebellions in the West African nation's desert north.
    A Reuters journalist travelling with Mara saw the body of one dead soldier, which was brought to a Malian army base in the town where the prime minister was forced to spend the night.
    MINUSMA, a nearly 13,000-strong United Nations peace-keeping mission, is rolling out but is not yet at full strength.
    Mara poured criticism on both the French and U.N. forces for allowing the attack to take place.
    "I think the least that we could have expected from [U.N. peacekeeping force] MINUSMA was that they'd ensure the governor's office wasn't attacked," he said.
    A U.N. spokesman on Sunday declined to comment on the events in Kidal.
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