By Marie-Pierre OlphandPosted on 25-03-2019Modified on 25-03-2019 at 19:47

Mali is still in shock 48 hours after the attack by unidentified men from a Peul village in the center of the country that left 154 dead and dozens wounded. In response the government has dismissed the Chief of General Staff of the Army, that of the Army and Air, but many questions remain about the reasons for this massacre.

The identity of the attackers is still unknown on Monday night. Since Saturday, however, the eyes are turned to the Dogon militia Dan Nan Ambassagou . The government has announced its dissolution, which amounts to a form of accusation. The Tabula Pulaaku Peul association also clearly designates the men of this militia of self-defense, a militia that has denied any involvement.

The track of other authors is not excluded. What questions is the choice of this village. Is it because it housed an informal camp to disarm jihadist veterans? In this case, why pick on repentances and a marabout who was also out of favor with the jihadists? What makes little doubt is the will to perpetrate a mass murder. The attack was not claimed, but it is very rarely the case in such a community conflict.

A benevolent tolerance of the state?

What is surprising is the sudden firm reaction of the government to Dan Nan Ambassagou. The association was born at the end of 2016, and this is not the first time its men have been singled out. The association never concealed that it had a military leader, Youssouf Toloba, and that it was therefore a self-defense group. Three days before the attack, Dan Nan Ambassagou had announced in a statement his decision to start patrols in the region to secure the people. Why did Bamako not react earlier?

Part of the answer may lie in the relations between this militia and the army. Dogon hunters have always claimed to support the state, for practical reasons. Contacts exist between soldiers who are not native to the area and hunters, some observers do not hesitate to talk about benevolent tolerance even if, a year ago, the authorities denied any link in a statement signed by the governor of Mopti. " The army has neither armed nor equipped Dozos against anyone, " the text said. In this announcement Bamako already showed its willingness to disarm all the militias. Black on white it was written that anyone found in possession of a weapon of war would be forcibly disarmed and brought to justice.

A disarmament operation that promises to be complicated

Given the weakness of the state in the center of the country, the operation to dissolve and disarm this militia looks complicated. We need military reinforcements, patrols. But the army that just lost a few days ago 26 of its men in the attack of his camp Dioura in the center is it able to go and seek and convince those who have not surrendered? Even to oppose them?

The chairman of the DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration) commission ensures that the cantonment will begin next week in the center of the country. According to Zahabi ould Sidi Mohamed, since January, 1,500 men have already registered, jihadists and hunters combined. The future will tell whether the desire to disarm the fighters in this central region will go beyond the strength that the authorities had to display this weekend. For Yvan Guichaoua, a researcher at the University of Kent, the solution requires a real political shift and not just a change at the top of the army staff, such as the one operated by the government this weekend.

    On the same subject

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    Mali: Who is Dan Nan Ambassagou, the militia accused of the Ogossagou massacre?

    Massacre in Mali: IBK replaces his staff and dissolves the Dogon militia

    Mali: renewed violence linked to "the absence of the State and access to weapons"

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