All the soldiers and security personnel taken hostage by the rebels have been released unharmed. Despite some alarming declarations from government leaders in Gao expressing a desire to ‘clean up the region once and for all’, most people expect negotiations to start shortly. An uneasy standoff prevails for the time being.

The governor of Kidal, who was taken hostage by the rebels and then released, has been sending out messages on the local Tamashek radio station Radio Tisdas asking civilians who fled to the surrounding country to come back to town. Some have returned, others are camped around the village of Intedeyni and in other parts of the desert, and others have travelled north to take refuge across the border in Algeria. Some reports claim that the shops are open in Kidal and the local population are circulating relatively freely under the eyes of the army. Others say that the army have been forbidding shops and market traders to open. As with any conflict, confusion prevails.

The army have declared that their primary aim is simply to bring security to the town and to its people. The Military Commander of the Gao Region, Lieutenant-Colonel Alhaji Ag Gamou, a Touareg himself, has said that the situation is stable and calm. Yesterday three planes from Bamako landed at Kidal’s small airstrip, although the purpose of this mission is not yet clear. We also heard that two high-ranked Tamashek army officers have deserted their posts in the town of Tessalit north of Kidal with a large quantity of arms and ammunitions, as well as several 4×4 vehicles, and have gone to join the rebels in the mountains.

Last night members of Tinariwen made contact with the leaders of the rebel movement by satellite phone, and were given a very basic outline for the reasons behind the attacks. Here is a summary of what was said:

For some months the leaders of the Touareg community in the northeast of Mali have been trying to negotiate with the government of President Amadou Toumani Toure in Bamako. They were seeking greater autonomy for the northern desert regions of Mali and a special status for these areas that remain particularly underdeveloped, even by Malian standards. They proposed that a special agency be created to administer the northern districts, governed by local leaders, which could handle the particular affairs of the nomadic populations with sensitivity and respect. This administrative structure would also be entrusted with the protection of the desert environment and the cultural heritaqe of desert people.

The rebel leaders stressed that they had no desire to wage war for its own sake. Their decision to pull back from Kidal and avoid any direct confrontation with the army was taken in order to avoid any unnecessary loss of life, either civilian or military. The refusal of ministers and politicans in Bamako to listen, to talk and to negotiate lead to a breakdown in relations between Touareg leaders and the government, following which, the Malian army increased its presence in the Kidal region by sending small units out to take control of wells and other facilities that are crucial to the daily survival of the nomadic population. These actions were bound to provoke the anger of the Touareg leadership. Relations have deteriorated to such an extent that direct dialogue seems out of the question for the time being and an international mediator is urgently required to break the deadlock.

In general, since the rebellion of the 1990s which caused immense suffering and social distress, the Touareg leaders have sought peaceful means above all others by which to further the interests the region and its people. But the impasse in the negotiations created a situation in which, the leadership believed, only radical action would bring the politicians to their senses, and open the way for dialogue once again.

It must be stressed that the actions of the rebel movement in recent days have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Al Qaida or the various Salafist militias present in the southern Saharan desert. The leadership refutes all the unfounded reports in the media that try and link their actions to some kind of fundamentalist Islamic agenda. This remains a local dispute in which the rights of a people to a certain degree of autonomy and self-determination within existing national boundaries remains the paramount issue.

The members of Tinariwen themselves would like to stress that their overriding concern at this moment in time is the fate of their friends and families and of the civilian population in general who have been caught up in these events. This is the hottest season in the year, with temperatures reaching 45C in the shade. The need for water, food and shelter remains urgent.

Signed: TINARIWEN.

For more information please check the BBC and Reuters websites.