Gaddafi allies take war to Mali

A NEW Tuareg rebel group, whose members include fighters once loyal to Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi, launched its first attack yesterday on at least one town in Mali.

Many ethnic Tuareg fighters who fought for Gaddafi returned home to Mali after the Libyan tyrant was killed in October. Some joined a rebel group called the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad, or NMLA, which was formed that same month. Most of the fighting was in Menaka, in eastern Mali, said an NMLA spokesman. The attack broke two years of relative peace. “Operations are continuing in Menaka and some other towns as well. Our aim is to liberate these towns,” he said.

Azawad refers to the Tuareg-speaking zone covering northern Mali, northern Niger, and southern Algeria.