Ganda Iso | |
---|---|
Participant in Tuareg rebellion (1990–95) 2012 insurgency in northern Mali | |
Active | 2009–present |
Leaders |
Seydou Cissé Amadou Diallo |
Area of operations | Mali |
Strength | 1,300 (July 2012)[1] |
Originated as | Ganda Koy |
Allies |
Mali Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa |
Opponents | National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad[2] |
Ganda Iso, or Ganda Izo, meaning "Sons of Land", is a paramilitary group which emerged in Northern Mali in the early 21st century and has been active during the 2012 Northern Mali Conflict.
Formation[]
The Ganda Koy movement was founded in May 1994, by Seydou Cissé, as a response to rising tensions between Tuaregs and sedentary black tribes of the Gao Region, in northern Mali.Ganda Koy fighters were recruited among Songhai, Bambara, Fulani, Bozo and Tuareg-Bella tribesmen.[2][3]
Ganda Koy immediately rejected the “National Pact” for peace signed in April 1992.The movement then embraced a racist anti-Tuareg ideology, in response to what it perceived as Tuareg oppression.[3]
Ganda Koy later transformed into Ganda Iso, which is seen as its direct successor.[2][4]
Touareg Conflict[]
In 1994, Ganda Koy actions amounted to 60-300 deaths.[3]
In 2008, a Ganda Iso military leader, Sergeant Amadou Diallo, conducted a "broad daylight massacre" where four Tuareg civilians were killed. This resulted into a split between Diallo and the civilian leadership of the movement.[4]
Amadou Diallo was reportedly killed in Ansongo, in a battle against MNLA rebels on 25 March 2012.[4]
On 1 September 2012, the town of Douentza, in the Mopti Region, until then controlled by Ganda Iso, is taken without violence by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa.[5]
References[]
- ↑ Mali's Self-Defense Militias Take the Reconquest of the North Into Their Own Hands Refworld.org (Jamestown Foundation), 10 August 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mahjar-Barducci, Anna (6 July 2012). "MNLA: The Fight For A Secular State Of Azawad – Part II: Fighting Terror In The Sahel". Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.854. Middle East Media Research Institute. http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6496.htm#_edn18. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "OECD Report". 2010. http://www.oecd.org/swac/publications/47092939.pdf. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 McGregor, Andrew (20 April 2012). ""The Sons of the Land": Tribal Challenges to the Tuareg Conquest of Northern Mali". Terrorism Monitor Volume: 10 Issue: 8. Jamestown Foundation. http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=39290. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ↑ "Mali: des islamistes à la lisière Nord-Sud". 1 September 2012. http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2012/09/01/97001-20120901FILWWW00429-mali-des-islamistes-a-la-lisiere-nord-sud.php. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
The original article can be found at Ganda Iso and the edit history here.