This post is part of our special coverage Libya Revolution 2011.
Since the break out of the Libyan war, many security and political experts have warned against potential threats posed by the Tuareg nomads of the Sahara, particularly in Mali and Niger. Is it a real threat or mere speculation? For the moment, the only place to hear the voices of the Tuareg is on the Internet.
It all began with substantial migration from Libya to its neighboring countries. Long ago, many observers believed that former Libyan leader Gaddafi may have recruited Tuareg people to secure the south of the country and sustain a booming Libyan economy, while taking advantage of a (mostly cheaper) alien workforce. The death of Africa's “King of Kings” (Gaddafi's nickname) has now pushed thousands of Tuareg people to return to Mali and Niger.
Realistic threat?
The return of the well-armed fighters as well as empty-handed civilians, has fed all sort of rumors in the region. There were rumors that the son of Muammer Gaddafi, Saif al Islam, was hiding in the region, however, these turned out to be false. On November 11, 2011, 14 Tuareg fighters returning from Libya were allegedly killed after exchanging fire with security forces from Niger at the border of Niger and Mali.
It is mostly local and international media that is highlighting the, as yet non-existent, threat of a rebellion coming from the north of the region. Media chatter is awash with the supposed anxiety of the authorities, who allegedly fear a Tuareg rebellion. Both Mali and Niger's governments are stepping up their military presence [fr] and initiatives to ensure order in the Tuareg regions. Missing amongst all this are the voices of the Tuareg people themselves.
Isolated and voiceless
Geographically, the region inhabited by Tuareg people is thousands of kilometers away from the Malian capital Bamako. The isolation of the Tuareg people is reinforced by the fact that the Al-Qaeda organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has kidnapped many foreigners in the region, which has discouraged most visitors to venture into the Saharan region.
The isolation is as much a psychological one as it is a geographical one, which makes the exploration of the area and the understanding of it by outsiders even more more difficult.
More effective than communiqués and declarations, YouTube has made it possible to realize that something has been stirring in the region. In Kidal, a town in north-eastern Mali, an unofficial number of Tuareg people marched to claim the autonomy of the Azawad region on November 1
Others in the towns of Menaka, Gao and Tombouctou also marched in solidarity with the call by MNLA - a French acronym for the National Liberation Movement of Azawad - for autonomy.
MNLA is well organized on the Internet where it delineates its objectives on its website.
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