KEY POINTS
- A drone strike at a fair killed eight people, including children.
- The Tuareg rebels blamed the Malian army and Turkish drones.
- The rebels had previously withdrawn from peace talks in 2022.
Tuareg rebels reported Tuesday that a drone hit at a fair in the northern Timbuktu region of Mali killed at least eight people, including children, and injured twenty more.
Drone strike at local fair kills civilians in Timbuktu region
In a statement released Monday, the rebel coalition called the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defence of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA), said that a Turkish drone had carried out multiple attacks on civilian residences and a local marketplace. According to reports, the attack happened at a festival that attracted local residents.
The Malian army and its partners were held accountable by the CSP-DPA for the incident, claiming that they were in charge of ordering drone strikes against people. The rebels claim that both adults and children were killed when the Turkish-made drone struck populous areas. Requests for comment were not immediately answered by Mali’s military.
Tuareg conflict with Mali’s government intensifies after peace talks collapse
An independent homeland has long been a goal for the Tuareg, an ethnic minority that lives in the Sahara region, which includes northern Mali. In 2012, the separatist organisation began an insurgency against the junta government in Mali. But Islamist organisations later took control of the uprising, sparking a complicated and protracted struggle in the area.
Tensions have persisted even after the Tuareg rebels and the Malian government signed a peace deal in 2015. Citing a lack of advancement and discontent with the government’s position on autonomy for the northern region, the CSP-DPA withdrew from the peace negotiations in late 2022.
The rebels claimed to have murdered 47 Malian soldiers and 84 Russian mercenaries in a major attack on a convoy of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries and Malian soldiers in northern Mali in July, according to Reuters. In recent months, the fighting between government forces and rebel groups has intensified in northern parts of Mali.
