Elephant poaching acts multiply and even threaten the survival of the species in the country. Armed jihadists would be partly responsible. Since the beginning of the year, 57 elephants were killed in the Gourma region. This is 20 percent of the total population of a local species that has successfully adapted to desert conditions of this area. These poaching incidents are not really new, but they are clearly increasing in recent months. NGOs and the UN therefore suspect local
terrorist groups. They would encourage poaching then make ivory trade, to make a funding source. To try to protect these elephants, the Malian authorities have deployed some fifty additional rangers in that region. This is good, but not enough for environmentalists, who now require the intervention of the army.
France Will Release 300 Million Euros for Mali
France is expected to propose new aid to Mali on the order of 300 million Euros on the occasion of the visit to Paris this week by Ibrahim Boubacar Keita President, said Reuters citing a French diplomatic source. At the donor conference in Mali in May 2013 in Brussels, France promised 280 million euros in loans and grants. Over 300 million euros were eventually paid between May 2013 to May 2015. This week, “France should announce additional approximately 300 million, until 2017, of which a substantial part for the North,” says one source. President Ibrahim
Boubacar Keita of the Republic, accompanied by several ministers, participated Thursday in a conference on assistance to his country in the war against Islamist terrorism, on the initiative of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OECD).
A Former Army Commander, a Member of Ansar Dine, Shot
The fight against the jihadists continued in northern Mali. A former commander of the Malian Army, who returned in 2012 to the ranks of the Islamist group Ansar Dine, was killed last week in a French military operation in northern Mali; a blow to the jihadists. Esse Ag Warakoule was a member of the armed group Ansar Dine, under Islamist leader Iyad Ag Ghaly. Some say it was a while back, military operations against the international forces, but other sources are formal: he had been more of a chameleon, a shepherd by day, a jihadist at night. Former commander of the Malian army, he deserted during the crisis in the north in 2012. He became one of the lieutenants of Iyad Ag Ghaly. Like him, he is Tuareg, from the Kidal region.
And What Concord Ifoghas Imghad?
The Ifoghas Imghad signed a document on their side to Edjerer, close to Anefis, October 9, in which they expressed their desire for peace between communities engaged for many years in a political struggle for leadership in the Kidal region. The conflict, which has lasted nearly 10 years, has significantly contributed to the outbreak of the rebellion in 2012. Both tribes now preach forgiveness and “undertake to manage by consensus common problems on all fronts:management of pastoral land, transhumance areas, salty land and water, etc.,” says the document called the Pact of Honor and Social Contract.
Conflicts between Ifoghas Imghad Will be Paid According to “Customs and Traditions”Now Ifoghas Imghad agree to share power equitably and work towards “collaborative and inclusive management of political affairs.” The conflict between the two clans will be settled according to “customs and traditions.” The guarantors of this agreement are on one side the Executive Chief Ifoghas tribe Alghabass Ag Intalla, and on the other, General El Hadj Ag Gamou for the Imghad tribe.
The Imghad and Dawsahak on the Path of Dialogue?
This week, members of these two communities engaged each other in fighting and plundered their camps. At least one person was killed in the clashes in the Gao region. But Anefis, the vicious circle of revenge was also broken by the signing of the Pact of Honor and Social Contract. According to a joint statement signed by Ag Gamou (Imghad) and Moussa Ag Acharatoumane (Dawsahak), on October 10, the two communities lay down their arms and “undertake to hold a meeting on short notice to Inwelan in the area Talataye, to reconcile all the area’s communities.”
What Other Tribes in Peace Negotiations?
At Anefis, Arab tribes and Machzouf Limhar have also signed a peace agreement, just like the Tuareg and Limhar Idnan, which have reconciled after more than two years of estrangement. In February 2013, rebels from the first tribe ransacked and looted shops of members of the second in the small town of Inkhalil on the border between Mali and Algeria. For their part, they accused the Idnan Limhar to have carried out summary executions in retaliation for what had happened to Inkhalil. According to the final communiqué of the meeting, the settlement of this particular conflict “was transferred for final and comprehensive settlement at the CMA and Platform within 45 days from the date of signature of this document.”
An NGO Weighs Babies in Neighborhoods
Spotlight on the activity of the NGO Djantoli. Bambara, this means “ensure, take care.” This health NGO is presently in Burkina Faso and Mali, where it conducts preventive actions for the health of children through simple techniques to implement, which are very innovative.
Red Cards Manipulators
Without risk of error, we can say that our country is firmly committed to ending the crisis. This observation is palpable in several respects, including the reopening of schools in Kidal after three years. But in the search for lasting peace, there are still manipulators—enemies of peace who are desperate to maintain our country in the abyss. And the manifestations of youth and women handled against the arrival of the ministerial delegation in Kidal last Sunday for the reopening of schools is a perfect illustration—a fact that proves that CMA leaders are no longer on the same wavelength, with manipulators who deserve the red card. It is indeed ghosts of Libya, headed by
Bilal Ag Achérif, who still refuse to follow the logic of peace and are among those who manipulate young people and women and lead campaigns against the agreement; the signing last June was followed by a massive return of rebel fighters in Libya.
http://www.maliweb.net/non-classe/tour-de-table-les-elephants-menaces-par-les-groupes-terroristes-1210162.html