After 17 days of siege, the Malian army breaks the blockade of Farabougou
The Malian army did not specify whether the soldiers deposited in Farabougou will be joined by others (illustration).
9. REUTERS / Benoit Tessier
Text by: David Baché
3 min
The Malian armed forces succeeded this Thursday, October 22 in breaking the blockade in Farabougou, in central Mali, after 17 days of siege by jihadist fighters.
If the action delights the inhabitants of the village, it also compromises the mediation in progress.
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“
Of course, we are very happy!
The voice of this inhabitant of Farabougou is not that of a man who exults, but who expresses his relief in his own way.
This Thursday morning, a Malian army plane first dropped, for the third time since the start of the week, food and medicine on
the besieged village
.
Soldiers were then dropped off in the village by an Mi-24 helicopter, said the Malian army.
These are the first elements of a special forces battalion, she said.
A villager explains that the soldiers settled in part of the village and that they did not have to fire a single shot.
The army did not say whether these men would soon be joined by others.
No details on the rest of their mission either.
Mediators fear violence
The entry of Malian soldiers into Farabougou was demanded by many Malians, who worried that the blockade would continue.
But not by
the local mediators
, who have been trying for ten days to obtain a peaceful outcome to the situation.
A meeting was still scheduled this Thursday morning between the jihadists and representatives of the village, accompanied by several facilitators, including an imam and a dozo hunter from neighboring villages.
“
At the last moment the jihadists canceled.
They were afraid of the Malian army planes
”, specifies a mediator, who explains that the meeting in question was to record the lifting of the blockade.
A new meeting is scheduled for Friday, "
but with the arrival of the soldiers in the village, another mediator specifies, we do not know what will happen
".
Mediators now fear that fighting will replace dialogue.
They fear above all possible abuses or acts of revenge against the neighboring Fulani populations.
Since the start of this crisis, for fear of amalgamation and violence against them, many Fulani families have, according to several local elected officials, sought refuge in the bush.
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