News Articles and Blog Articles

The situation in Mali has been rapidly evolving since January 17, 2012. Below, we are listing news and blog articles as we find them on the Internet:

Feb 19, 2012

(RFI) Mauritanie-Niger: l'aide s'organise pour les réfugiés maliens

http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20120219-mauritanie-niger-aide-s-organise-refugies-maliens

Feb 19, 2012

(CNN, Moni Basou) Hunger in Niger threatens millions

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/18/world/africa/niger-hunger/

Feb 19, 2012

(Associated Press) Witness says rebels attack southern Mali town, kill elder, ransack weapons

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/witness-says-rebels-attack-southern-mali-town-kill-elder-ransack-weapons/2012/02/19/gIQAd9i5MR_story.html

Feb 18, 2012

(Kidal Info, Tom Buktu) Delis de Faciès et Arme de la faim a Gao!

http://www.kidal.info/KI/forums?theme=debats&msg=10071&p=1

Feb 18, 2012

(BBC) Refugees in Niger plead for aid

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17084036

Feb 18, 2012

(Al Jazeera) Tuareg rebellion sparks crisis in Mali

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/02/20122188513342701.html

Feb 18, 2012

(ICRC, on ReliefWeb) Les populations continuent de fuir les zones de combats

http://reliefweb.int/node/477704

Feb 17, 2012

(France24, Assan Midal) Témoignage exclusif sur la situation critique des réfugiés maliens au Niger

http://observers.france24.com/node/460656

Feb 17, 2012

(Alakhbar) Nord du Mali : " aucune médiation de taille" pour le moment (chef rebelle)

http://www.temoust.org/nord-du-mali-aucune-mediation-de,15580#.T0B4OXZ5vgI.facebook

Feb 16, 2012

(BBC) In pictures: Malians flee Tuareg rebels

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17033313

Feb 15, 2012

(InI, Rick Rozoff) Mali: U.S. Africa Command’s New War?

http://williambowles.info/2012/02/15/mali-u-s-africa-commands-new-war-by-rick-rozoff/

(to be continued)

The Tuareg Crisis in Mali

It has been over a week now since Tuaregs in Mali began running from the hostilities that engulfed their homes. The numbers were up to 60,000 people a few days ago, and rising -- half of them internally displaced. Population figures for Tuaregs in Mali are very difficult to calculate accurately for many reasons, but 60,000 may be close to 80-90% of the entire Tuareg population in Mali.

The media keep advertising the rebellion as the main reason that people had to leave. But there were many important contributing factors that had been brewing for a long time before the rebellion started in mid-January. The hostilities that generated militias, mobs, looting, and even genocidal actions have been developing over a long time.

At the base, Mali is a poor country, largely desert, and basic food and land resources are scarce for many people -- even though the country has significant energy resources. Climate change and droughts have increased the problems for subsistence farmers, and especially for pastoralists trying to survive in the expanding desert. The past year has been particularly difficult because of recurrent drought and famine. The social inequalities that have plagued Mali since Independence have not been solved; they emerged in the colonial era and have persisted. Corruption exists in every country; but it has the most disastrous effects in countries such as Mali where people are deprived of development because of it. Major world powers and corporations are actors in this crisis, too.

All of these things are contributing factors to the crisis in Mali.

Rebellions are something that people do when they cannot do anything within a system to improve their dire situation. We do not want to pass judgment one way or the other, but it is important to understand the big picture that explains why people are doing what they are doing. It is important to recognize all of the factors that have contributed to the refugee situation. The refugees had to run because they were helpless in the face of all these factors. They need water and food right now -- but they need much more than the means to survive. They need to find a way to go home and return to normal life, with dignity. And they need to feel safe, and protected from hate and hostility.

Ultimately, it's going to take resolution of some of these other factors. There are some things that people cannot change -- for example, the long-term climate change that is affecting farming and pastoralism. But people can change the way they are making decisions about other things. The people at the bottom have little power to effectuate any major change. What is needed is a change of direction on the part of government leaders, major world powers, and corporations. Change must come from the top.

-- Barbara A. Worley, Ph.D.

Anthropologist, The University of Massachusetts, Boston

Malian Refugees - Current Situation

Malian Refugees - Current Situation:

(Summary, in English)
Jeune Afrique (Baba Ahmed) Interview with Assilakane Ag Intereouit, president of the regional committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
1. 30,000 internally displaced refugees in Mali, including:
2. 26,000 are around Menaka (region of Gao)
3. 4,000 are around Aguelhok (region of Kidal)
4. an undetermined number are around Timbuktu
5. an undetermined number are in the open desert without water and food
6. The situation is critical
7. Red Cross is conducting census of displaced people around Tessalit; this will inflate the numbers
8. Red Cross first does a census before intervening with aid
9. At Aguelhok, the Red Cross has distributed: 4 tons of cooking oil, tomatoes, lentils, pasta, and also: blankets, mats, and mosquito nets [to protect against malaria]
10. At Tessalit, the Red Cross has distributed: warm winter clothing for the children, and cooking oil
11. What is most urgent:
12. We need: medicine for headaches, palpitations, fatigue, stress
13. We need: medicine for the prevention of epidemics
14. At Kidal: the situation in the refugee camps is alarming
15. At Tessalit: the situation is alarming, especially 25 km south of there where the population has gathered, and there is nothing there
16. The Algerian border: 2,000 displaced of the Al Khalil group, 18 km from the border
17. At Aguelhok: 4,000 people are installed in 4 locations around this ghost town
18. At Timbuktu: the situation is similar to Aguelhok
19. In the open desert: some make-shift refugee camps are in the open desert
20. Red Cross has freedom to move around and go to displaced populations, and this is a very good thing
21. Malian government: has donated 10 tons of grain in Aguelhok, and 3 tons in Tessalit, but it is far from being enough
22. [Red Cross] "I suppose that the state [Malian government] has slowed its aid because of the upsurge in fighting."

Propos recueillis par Baba Ahmed, à Bamako, February 11, 2012 at 11h:58

http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAWEB20120211113856/mali-rebellion-touaregue-touareg-aide-humanitairecrise-humanitaire-au-nord-mali-la-situation-dans-les-camps-de-deplaces-est-alarmante.html

The Tuareg Crisis In Mali

It has been over a week now since Tuaregs in Mali began running from the hostilities that engulfed their homes. The numbers were up to 60,000 people a few days ago, and rising -- half of them internally displaced. Population figures for Tuaregs in Mali are very difficult to calculate accurately for many reasons, but 60,000 may be anywhere from 60-80% of the entire Tuareg population in Mali.

The media keep advertising the rebellion as the main reason that people had to leave. But there were many important contributing factors that had been brewing for a long time before the rebellion started in mid-January. The hostilities that generated militias, mobs, looting, and even genocidal actions have been developing over a long time.

At the base, Mali is a poor country, largely desert, and basic food and land resources are scarce for many people -- even though the country has significant energy resources. Climate change and droughts have increased the problems for subsistence farmers, and especially for pastoralists trying to survive in the expanding desert. The past year has been particularly difficult because of recurrent drought and famine. The social inequalities that have plagued Mali since Independence have not been solved; they emerged in the colonial era and have persisted. Corruption exists in every country; but it has the most disastrous effects in countries such as Mali where people are deprived of development because of it. Major world powers and corporations are actors in this crisis, too.

All of these things are contributing factors to the crisis in Mali.

Rebellions are something that people do when they cannot do anything within a system to improve their dire situation. We do not want to pass judgment one way or the other, but it is important to understand the big picture that explains why people are doing what they are doing. It is important to recognize all of the factors that have contributed to the refugee situation. The refugees had to run because they were helpless in the face of all these factors. They need water and food right now -- but they need much more than the means to survive. They need to find a way to go home and return to normal life, with dignity. And they need to feel safe, and protected from hate and hostility.

Ultimately, it's going to take resolution of some of these other factors. There are some things that people cannot change -- for example, the long-term climate change that is affecting farming and pastoralism. But people can change the way they are making decisions about other things. The people at the bottom have little power to effectuate any major change. What is needed is a change of direction on the part of government leaders, major world powers, and corporations. Change must come from the top.

-- Barbara Worley, Ph.D. Anthropologist, the University of Massachusetts at Boston