By S A H A R A N M O I T O R.
From 1960 in Kidal, right after French colonial rule ended, Malian gendarmes began with systematic humiliation. They tore off the turbans of Tuareg men in their camps and forced them to stare at the sun in front of their families. An exorbitant tax was imposed on herders. Ebanzan became the first Tuareg victim in Taghlit: killed for refusing to pay 500 francs. This marked the beginning of Malian repression.
A wave of fear spread. The French left without consulting the locals and handed the Tuaregs’ fate to Mali. Men secretly prepared resistance by buying weapons from Algerian fellagas. In 1963, the turning point: two young men from Boghassa, Iladi ag Alla and Toutaka, disarmed Malian guards who were extorting the population. This sparked the 1963 rebellion.
Repression was swift. Zoulbeyba’s méhariste gendarmes, loyal allies of Mali, arrived from Gao. Then Captain Deby Syllas received carte blanche from Modibo Keita to “destroy the Tuaregs.”
Motorized armored units reached Kidal. Camel-mounted rebels carried out a few actions, but Deby Syllas mainly targeted civilians. Kidal, Tessalit, and Aguelhok were declared “rebel zones”: all humans and animals were to be eliminated.
The Kidal prison camp opened. Entire families were thrown in. Leaders were arrested and executed, their relatives forced to applaud. Wells were poisoned, young women forcibly wed, Tuareg culture banned and replaced by Bambara culture.
Thousands of families fled to Algeria. They were pursued into Algerian territory with Algiers’ approval. Some were massacred along with their animals on Algerian soil. The rebellion was quickly crushed due to lack of ammunition, communication, or vehicles. The Amenokal of the Adagh negotiated the fighters’ surrender in exchange for amnesty. Some laid down arms, others went into exile.
In 1964, the Kidal region was subdued. Fighters who had surrendered were later executed (such as Akhlou Salem). Hundreds of families died in the prison camp, their bodies burned on the banks of the southern wadi of Kidal.
In 1967, the US-RDA party (through Captain Deby Syllas) decided to decapitate traditional Tuareg leadership. Several notables were arrested and tortured to death: Hamzata ag Alqassoum, Rhissa ag Oumayata, and others.
1973: drought under Moussa Traoré. The regime banned all aid to Tuareg herders and imposed an absurd tax: cutting one tree branch cost 25,000 Malian francs, while a cow sold for only 1,500 francs.
After 1973, the 1984-85 drought worsened the crisis. The scandal is known as the “Villas of the Drought”: international aid funds were embezzled to build luxury villas. Mass exile followed to Libya, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and even Saudi Arabia. Schooling remained inaccessible: high schools only in Gao and Timbuktu, university in Bamako. The region was deliberately kept in ignorance.
1992-1994: the army and its ethnic militias massacred and looted Tuareg properties in Gao and Timbuktu. Massive exodus to Mauritania, Algeria, and Burkina Faso.
The 1992 National Pact, promising special status for Azawad, was signed a few weeks after the Constitution was adopted. It was deliberately not incorporated into the Constitution and was therefore never implemented.
2012: the MNLA liberated Azawad and declared independence. Successive agreements (Ouagadougou, Algiers 2015) were signed then sabotaged by Bamako.
After the coups, Mali heavily invested in weapons: Turkish drones and Wagner mercenaries. In 2023, a full-scale offensive began with clear intent of ethnic cleansing.
Thousands of villages, towns, and camps destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Tuaregs fled. Bamako labeled the Tuaregs “terrorists” and launched a massive disinformation campaign. Despite cluster bombs, the Tuaregs resisted.
13-06-25