Ouagadagou Declaration

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The Ouagadagou Declaration is the final declaration [1] signed by the six political and military movements of Azawad, following a meeting that took place in Burkina Faso at the end of August 2014. The purpose of the declaration was to put an end to hostilities in northern Mali and to establish a political and legal status for Azawad. [2] It was signed on August 28, 2014 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. During this meeting, the groups were gathered together for the first time since the Ouagadougou Agreements of June 2013. [3] The meeting took place following the first round of the Algiers peace negotiations in July 2014 [4] and before these negotiations resumed in Algiers on September 1, 2014. [5]

Contents

Background

A meeting took place in Ouagadougou from 25 to 28 August bringing together six different armed groups in northern Mali. [6] The meeting was intended to encourage dialogue to resolve participants’ differences and to present a united front during official negotiations with the Malian government in Algiers, to find an acceptable solution to all the parties to the Northern Mali conflict.

The meeting was facilitated and moderated by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), chaired by High Council for Unity of Azawad (HCUA) and co-financed by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

Participants

The participants of this meeting included:

Results

The meeting helped to develop a conflict management committee in northern Mali and to establish a monitoring committee for the Ouagadougou Declaration. [1] [2] The HCUA, with support from HD, worked to bring all groups together to resolve their disputes. It encouraged them to develop a common position during the negotiations in Algiers and therefore to facilitate the discussions with the government in the rounds following the Declaration.

The declaration also brought an end to rivalries and hostilities on the ground especially between the MAA, MNLA group and MAA around Tabankort. Discussions during the meeting allowed an exchange of prisoners between the two groups. [8]

Signatories

The declaration was signed by:

Algabass Ag Intalla representing the Coordination of Political-Military Movement of Azawad / northern Mali (MNLA, HCUA, MAA and CMFPR). [9]

Ahmed Ould Sidi Mohamed representing the Movement Coordination Politico-Military Azawad signatories of the Algiers Platform of June 14, 2014 (CPA, [10] CMFPR and MAA), also known as "the Platform". [11]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azawad</span> Tuareg name for a territory in northern Mali

Azawad, or Azawagh, was a short-lived unrecognised state lasting between 2012 and 2013. Azawagh (Azawaɣ) is the generic Tuareg Berber name for all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of Mali and northern and western Niger. The Azawadi declaration of independence was declared unilaterally by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012, after a Tuareg rebellion drove the Malian Armed Forces from the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab Movement of Azawad</span> Arab military organization active in northern Mali

The Arab Movement of Azawad is an Arab military organization active in Azawad/northern Mali. Initially known as the National Liberation Front of Azawad, it was formed in early 2012, during the 2012 Tuareg rebellion. The MAA claims to be a secular, non-terrorist organization, whose main objective is to defend the interests of all the Arab peoples of northern Mali.

Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh is an Azawadi politician. He has served as member of the National Assembly of Mali. During the early phases of the Northern Mali conflict he served as National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) external relations Representative, before starting his own party, the Coalition for the People of Azawad (CPA), in March 2014, after a fallout with MNLA leader Bilal Ag Acherif.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coordination of Azawad Movements</span> Mali resistance coalition

The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) (Tamasheq: ⵜⴰⵙⵈ ⵏ ⵜⵏⴰⴾⵔⵢⵓⵏ ⵜⵢⵏ ⴰⵣⴰⵓⴰⴷ; Arabic: تنسيقية الحركات الأزوادية; French: Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad) is a large coalition of Tuareg independentist and Arab nationalist groups which formed in Mali during the Northern Mali conflict in 2014.

The Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD), also known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defense and Protection of Azawad, is a coalition of political and military movements in northern Mali, that was formed on May 6, 2021. The CSP-PSD is an alliance between the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and Platform. In September 2023, Platform left the CSP-PSD due to the CMA's war with the Malian government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition of the People of Azawad</span> Political and military party in Mali

The Coalition of the People of Azawad, also translated as the Coalition for the People of Azawad (CPA) is a Tuareg political and military movement formed in 2014 during the Mali War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Council for the Unity of Azawad</span>

The High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) (French: Haut conseil pour l'unité de l'Azawad) is a Tuareg political movement formed on May 2, 2013, during the Mali War. The movement was initially called the High Council of Azawad (HCA) (French: Haut conseil de l'Azawad) before changing its name on May 19, 2013.

The battle of Kidal took place between July 21 and 22, 2016 between GATIA, a pro-government militia consisting of Imghad Tuaregs, against the Coordination of Azawad Movements, consisting of Ifoghas Tuaregs.

The Algiers Accords, officially referred to as the Accord for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, is a 2015 agreement to end the Mali War. The agreement was signed on May 15 and June 20, 2015, in Bamako, following negotiations in Algiers between the Republic of Mali and Coordination of Azawad Movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alghabass Ag Intalla</span>

Alghabass Ag Intalla is a Malian Tuareg politician and prominent leader of the High Council for the Unity of Azawad and the Coordination of Azawad Movements.

The Platform Movements of June 14, 2014 in Algiers, also called the Platform of Self-Defense Movements and colloquially known as Platform, is an alliance of pro-government armed groups during the Mali War formed during peace negotiations on June 14, 2014, in Algiers. Between 2021 and 2023, Platform joined the Coordination of Azawad Movements in the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD).

Cheikh Ag Aoussa, nom de guerre Abou Mohame, was a Tuareg rebel leader and prominent drug trafficker.

Mahri Sidi Amar Ben Daha, nom de guerre Yoro Ould Daha, was a Malian Arab warlord who fought in Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) and the Arab Movement of Azawad's pro-government faction.

Between July 19 and 22, 2014, pro-government rebels from GATIA and other militias clashed with rebels from the MNLA, HCUA, and dissident MAA in Tabankort, rural Gao Region, Mali. Clashes were paused after MINUSMA intervened.

On July 11, 2014, clashes broke out between pro-government militias led by GATIA and rebel militias led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Anefif, Mali. The battle was the first major confrontation between pro-government militias and rebel groups since the start of the Mali War in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular Movement for the Salvation of Azawad</span> Armed group active in northern Mali

The Popular Movement for the Salvation of Azawad or MPSA is an armed group active in northern Mali. It was founded on August 26, 2014, following a split from the Arab Movement of Azawad.

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Between May 17 and 18, 2013, the town of Anéfis, at the time controlled by the MNLA, was attacked by the Arab Movement of Azawad's pro-government faction. The MAA captured the town, but quickly abandoned it. The battle occurred amid high tensions between Kunta Arabs and Lemhar Arabs.

Mohamed Ag Intalla is a Malian Tuareg politician who has served as the amenukal of the Ifoghas Tuaregs since December 20, 2014.

The battle of Kidal took place between November 10 and 14, 2023, during the Kidal offensive in renewed conflict between the CSP-PSD and the Malian Armed Forces and allied Wagner Group mercenaries during the Mali War. The city of Kidal had been under rebel control since 2014, and the 2015 Algiers Agreement enacted a ceasefire and Kidal Region subsequently was de facto controlled by rebel groups. When Malian and Wagner forces captured the city on November 14, it marked the first time in nine years that all Malian regional capitals were fully under Malian government control.

References

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  9. "Ibrahim Abba Kantao, président de la dissidence de la CMFPR : "nous sommes exclus des pourparlers d'Alger parce que nous refusons de reconnaitre l'Azawad"". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
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