Briefing from ROAPE Volume 33 Number 108
Tuareg Take Up Arms

Several dozen Tuareg, led by Hassan Vaghagha (Fagaga), leader of the Mouvement National pour la Libération de l'Azawad, attacked two army bases at Kidal (NE Mali) and another at Menaka near the Niger border on May 23. The Kidal bases were quickly overrun, with most of the 400 garrisoned troops reported as fleeing - in spite of the much-publicised US training of the Malian army. The rebels looted the armouries, disappearing into the desert before reinforcements arrived. Casualties were light: 2 soldiers, 2 rebels but no civilians were killed.