The desert town of Kidal in northern Mali is under siege, divided into hostile camps by rival Tuareg factions—the pro-government Platform [9] coalition, led by the GATIA [10] militia, and the separatist Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA [10]). Jihadist insurgents meanwhile harass the UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA [11] in sporadic attacks from the desert. (Reuters [12], Oct. 17) Now there are signs that the jihadists are again trying to draw the separatist Tuarges into an alliance. On Oct. 9, renegade North African al-Qaeda leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar [13] issued an online statement [14] eulogizing Sheikh ag-Aoussa [15], a CMA leader who was killed in an explosion in Kidal the day before. Ag Aoussa's car blew up as he was leaving a meeting at the town's MINUSMA compound. Authorities maintain the car hit a land mine, but CMA followers charge that Ag Aoussa was assassinated. (LWJ [16], Oct. 14)
Jihadists and basically secular Tuareg separatists were initally allied when they conquered Mali's desert north in April 2012, but shortly fell out [17]. In the following months, the jihadists drove the separatist forces from the territory [18]. Since the jihadists were themselves driven into the desert [19] by a French-led multinational offensive in early 2013, the Tuareg movement has been divded [20] as to whether to accept a government offer of limited autonomy for the northern region, known as Azawad.
