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| As Mali's Islamists retreat, Tuareg civilians fear vengeful army's reprisals | As Mali's Islamists retreat, Tuareg civilians fear vengeful army's reprisals |
| (25 days later) | |
| Mustafa Mohammad was last seen alive 20 days ago. He was walking past a military camp when soldiers grabbed him. When he failed to return home, his son, Ataher, made inquiries. But nobody knew anything. | Mustafa Mohammad was last seen alive 20 days ago. He was walking past a military camp when soldiers grabbed him. When he failed to return home, his son, Ataher, made inquiries. But nobody knew anything. |
| Gradually, however, rumours spread that Malian soldiers had rounded up anyone suspected of collaborating with the rebels – and that then they had secretly shot them, dumping their bodies at the bottom of a well. | Gradually, however, rumours spread that Malian soldiers had rounded up anyone suspected of collaborating with the rebels – and that then they had secretly shot them, dumping their bodies at the bottom of a well. |
| Sitting in his home, a straw shack, and surrounded by members of his family and several goats, Ataher admitted his father was probably dead. He said the military had probably picked him out for two reasons: Mohammad was a Tuareg, and was piously dressed in a turban and traditional trousers. | Sitting in his home, a straw shack, and surrounded by members of his family and several goats, Ataher admitted his father was probably dead. He said the military had probably picked him out for two reasons: Mohammad was a Tuareg, and was piously dressed in a turban and traditional trousers. |
| Mohammad's disappearance from the town of Sévaré is part of an alarming pattern. According to Amnesty International, Malian soldiers carried out extrajudicial executions before and immediately after the French operation to drive Mali's rebels from the north. | Mohammad's disappearance from the town of Sévaré is part of an alarming pattern. According to Amnesty International, Malian soldiers carried out extrajudicial executions before and immediately after the French operation to drive Mali's rebels from the north. |
| In Sévaré, home to a French garrison, at least 25 people were executed on 10 January and in the days that followed, Amnesty says. | In Sévaré, home to a French garrison, at least 25 people were executed on 10 January and in the days that followed, Amnesty says. |
| When human rights workers began to investigate, soldiers hurriedly filled in a well with a large mound of red earth, visible on Thursday. | When human rights workers began to investigate, soldiers hurriedly filled in a well with a large mound of red earth, visible on Thursday. |
| A witness told Amnesty she saw a military vehicle halt near the well. She said: "Soldiers got out, took bodies and threw them in … The vehicle left and came back to the same place. They took other bodies, at least six and threw them in again. Once the bodies had been thrown into the well, they fired two or three bursts of machine-gun into it." | A witness told Amnesty she saw a military vehicle halt near the well. She said: "Soldiers got out, took bodies and threw them in … The vehicle left and came back to the same place. They took other bodies, at least six and threw them in again. Once the bodies had been thrown into the well, they fired two or three bursts of machine-gun into it." |
| The next day, other people including a women were similarly executed, witnesses said. | The next day, other people including a women were similarly executed, witnesses said. |
| "We don't know if my father is inside. They didn't let us go and see. All we know is that he disappeared," Ataher said. A week after he vanished on 11 January, he added, the army burst into his family home at midnight, saying they were looking for weapons. | "We don't know if my father is inside. They didn't let us go and see. All we know is that he disappeared," Ataher said. A week after he vanished on 11 January, he added, the army burst into his family home at midnight, saying they were looking for weapons. |
| Amnesty said a witness had told them Ataher's father was beaten on the street by soldiers while leaving his house and taken to a military roadblock where he was beaten again. "A soldier slapped him in the face and gave him a kick. I ran to inform his parents, but when they arrived, the soldiers denied access to anyone. I realised Mustafa had been taken by the military. That day, several people were arrested and driven away in military vehicles. Since then, there has been no news of him," the witness told Amnesty. | Amnesty said a witness had told them Ataher's father was beaten on the street by soldiers while leaving his house and taken to a military roadblock where he was beaten again. "A soldier slapped him in the face and gave him a kick. I ran to inform his parents, but when they arrived, the soldiers denied access to anyone. I realised Mustafa had been taken by the military. That day, several people were arrested and driven away in military vehicles. Since then, there has been no news of him," the witness told Amnesty. |
| When the rebels reached Konna, 40 miles north of Sévaré, during their advance earlier in the month, the Malian army retreated. It then apparently took revenge on unarmed civilian suspects. Military sources concede some men were executed. But they dismiss the victims as informers and accomplices. | When the rebels reached Konna, 40 miles north of Sévaré, during their advance earlier in the month, the Malian army retreated. It then apparently took revenge on unarmed civilian suspects. Military sources concede some men were executed. But they dismiss the victims as informers and accomplices. |
| For its part, the army here says it is dealing with a ruthless and cowardly enemy. On Thursday, at least four Malian army soldiers were killed when their vehicle struck a landmine on the road between Gossi and Gao. Despite recent French military successes, Mali now faces the prospect of a long and bitter guerrilla war. | For its part, the army here says it is dealing with a ruthless and cowardly enemy. On Thursday, at least four Malian army soldiers were killed when their vehicle struck a landmine on the road between Gossi and Gao. Despite recent French military successes, Mali now faces the prospect of a long and bitter guerrilla war. |
| Ordinary soldiers, meanwhile, complain they are under-equipped, underpaid, and fewer in number than the better-armed Islamists. "Look at my Kalashnikov. It's ancient," Corporal Ibrahim al-Sunni said, manning a roadblock between Sévaré and the shimmering Niger river town of Mopti. | Ordinary soldiers, meanwhile, complain they are under-equipped, underpaid, and fewer in number than the better-armed Islamists. "Look at my Kalashnikov. It's ancient," Corporal Ibrahim al-Sunni said, manning a roadblock between Sévaré and the shimmering Niger river town of Mopti. |
| After 20 years in the military, al-Sunni said he was earning just 50,000 Central African francs a month (£65). The maximum was 80,000 francs, he said, adding: "I have a wife. I have kids." His patrol car had recently broken down and he had been ignominiously forced to push it, he added. | After 20 years in the military, al-Sunni said he was earning just 50,000 Central African francs a month (£65). The maximum was 80,000 francs, he said, adding: "I have a wife. I have kids." His patrol car had recently broken down and he had been ignominiously forced to push it, he added. |
| Africom, the US command in Africa, made strenuous efforts to train Mali's armed forces following the kidnapping of several western hostages in 2008 and 2009. The aim was to curb the growing menace of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and to boost the country as a multi-ethnic democracy. The results, however, were mixed. Leaked US diplomatic cables reveal that on one occasion some 14 out of 37 Land Rovers donated by the US arrived late for a joint training exercise in Gao. Desert fatigues and boots failed to materialise. One Malian soldier, described as "rather unimpressive … with a scraggly beard and bloodshot eyes", turned out to be the only survivor of a brutal AQIM massacre. | Africom, the US command in Africa, made strenuous efforts to train Mali's armed forces following the kidnapping of several western hostages in 2008 and 2009. The aim was to curb the growing menace of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and to boost the country as a multi-ethnic democracy. The results, however, were mixed. Leaked US diplomatic cables reveal that on one occasion some 14 out of 37 Land Rovers donated by the US arrived late for a joint training exercise in Gao. Desert fatigues and boots failed to materialise. One Malian soldier, described as "rather unimpressive … with a scraggly beard and bloodshot eyes", turned out to be the only survivor of a brutal AQIM massacre. |
| Last year AQIM and other groups captured the country's north. | Last year AQIM and other groups captured the country's north. |
| Secular Tuareg rebel nationalists joined forces with the Islamists, with the Islamists then taking over. Many soldiers are believed to have sold their weapons to the rebels, while others defected, driving off in their US-donated vehicles. | Secular Tuareg rebel nationalists joined forces with the Islamists, with the Islamists then taking over. Many soldiers are believed to have sold their weapons to the rebels, while others defected, driving off in their US-donated vehicles. |
| So what happened to the $500m spent by the US on "counter-terrorism"? "The money went from the US to Bamako. But it never reached us in Gao," said Mohammad Ali Cissé, who enlisted in 2005, and comes from a senior army family. He added: "Bamako is the big crocodile. It eats up everything." | So what happened to the $500m spent by the US on "counter-terrorism"? "The money went from the US to Bamako. But it never reached us in Gao," said Mohammad Ali Cissé, who enlisted in 2005, and comes from a senior army family. He added: "Bamako is the big crocodile. It eats up everything." |
| Cissé attributed the rebels' successes to machinations in the capital, after a group of low-ranking army officers toppled the democratically elected president last March. In the wake of the putsch, the heads of the military were all fired. The rebels then seized their moment, capturing Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. | Cissé attributed the rebels' successes to machinations in the capital, after a group of low-ranking army officers toppled the democratically elected president last March. In the wake of the putsch, the heads of the military were all fired. The rebels then seized their moment, capturing Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. |
| Cissé said he spent two years serving in the blistering Saharan desert, 75 miles north of Timbuktu, before AQIM arrived. He patrolled the area on a camel, he said, and relaxed with his fellow soldiers by playing cards. "My conditions were good. Everything depends on the chief," he observed. | Cissé said he spent two years serving in the blistering Saharan desert, 75 miles north of Timbuktu, before AQIM arrived. He patrolled the area on a camel, he said, and relaxed with his fellow soldiers by playing cards. "My conditions were good. Everything depends on the chief," he observed. |
| Ataher, meanwhile, said his family had been under suspicion because of where they lived – in a grove of mango trees and spiky thorn bushes near the road between Sévaré and Mopti. In early 2012, fighters from Ansar Dine, an off-shoot of AQIM, held a religious meeting here for several days. Ever since, he said, the area had been tainted with Islamist radicalism. | Ataher, meanwhile, said his family had been under suspicion because of where they lived – in a grove of mango trees and spiky thorn bushes near the road between Sévaré and Mopti. In early 2012, fighters from Ansar Dine, an off-shoot of AQIM, held a religious meeting here for several days. Ever since, he said, the area had been tainted with Islamist radicalism. |
| Ataher said his father, however, was not a rebel but a Tuareg artisan who made jewellery and ebony trinkets for the tourist trade. They were Ifoghas Tuaregs, he added, with many of their relatives living near Kidal. "They say we Tuaregs are traitors. But I was born here. My heart is here," he said. "I'm friends with the Bambara people and the Fulani people." | Ataher said his father, however, was not a rebel but a Tuareg artisan who made jewellery and ebony trinkets for the tourist trade. They were Ifoghas Tuaregs, he added, with many of their relatives living near Kidal. "They say we Tuaregs are traitors. But I was born here. My heart is here," he said. "I'm friends with the Bambara people and the Fulani people." |
| They are now anxious that once the French forces leave, the Malian army will return, looking for scapegoats. | They are now anxious that once the French forces leave, the Malian army will return, looking for scapegoats. |
| "I'm afraid to stay here," Ataher's sister, Isata, said. "But we can't go anywhere because we have nothing." | "I'm afraid to stay here," Ataher's sister, Isata, said. "But we can't go anywhere because we have nothing." |
| "I don't know why they killed my father," she added. "What we need is peace." | "I don't know why they killed my father," she added. "What we need is peace." |
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