AFP: French national kidnapped in Mali: officials

Armed men have kidnapped a French national in the northern Malian town of Menaka close to the border with Niger

"He was taken by three armed men who were wearing turbans," on Wednesday evening, a Menaka municipal counsellor told AFP. The news was confirmed by a regional government official in the provincial capital Gao.
"We are doing everything to find him," he said.
Pierre Kamatte, 61, was said to have been taken from outside his hotel on Wednesday.
Mr Kamatte was reportedly conducting research into malaria when he was seized.
...
Details about the kidnapping of the French national which emerged Thursday suggest the action was planned out in advance, local officials said.
The fifty something man was jumped by armed men as he was leaving his hotel. The kidnappers waited till midnight as the power is usually cut at that hour to save electricity, they said.
"It's clear it was him they were after because his 4x4 car was left untouched by the kidnappers. It's still in the hotel courtyard," a local politician said.
Last week several humanitarian groups were reported to have pulled their expat employees from northern Mali following reports a botched kidnap attempt of westerners in a neighbouring country

Gunmen kidnap French national in Mali | International | Reuters

"The kidnapped man is an expatriate called Pierre Kamat. He was taken yesterday afternoon," said a government official, citing reports from local authorities in the eastern town of Menaka. The official, who asked not to be named, said the Frenchman had been visiting the town of Tinderman when taken.

Statistically the Niger - Mali border has been the worst area over the last year. Menaka is where mr Dyer and the Swiss tourists were kidnapped.

France asks its citizens to leave north, east Mali | Reuters

AFP: Al-Qaeda group holds Frenchman abducted in Mali: security official

The French hostage Pierre Camatte, 61, has "fallen into the hands of armed Islamists in the Sahara" desert after being abducted from his hotel overnight Wednesday, said the Malian official, who spoke anonymously.
"He is being held by the hardline AQIM," he said, adding the group "did not come themselves" to abduct the Frenchman but acted through intermediaries.
The kidnapping prompted France late Friday to urge its citizens to "immediately leave the area due to a new escalation in the terrorist threat."
French people in Kidal, Gao and Tombouctou regions should "head back without delay to the capital," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
There are around 10 French nationals in the area, according to the foreign ministry.
The French government also urged its citizens to avoid northern Niger, which borders Mali.
Camatte was snatched from Menaka in the Sahel region of northern Mali, more than 1,500 kilometres (1,000 miles) from the capital Bamako.
About 100 kilometeres from the border with Niger, the region is plagued by Tuareg rebels, Al-Qaeda militants and traffickers.
Malian soldiers were drafted in Friday to help in the hunt for Camatte.

edit: seems the "Malian official" wants to put some of the blame on the tuaregs. ("intermediaries") and lump them together with the bad guys ("plagued by tuareg rebels, AQ militants and traffickers" - in that order).
Same thing when the Canadians were kidnapped in Niger - the Niger government blamed tuareg rebels. When Fowler himself could tell what happened, he rather thought someone in the government had sold him out.

A brief update from kidal:

The situation is calm, and in all appearances, nothing has changed -- except that all the foreign nationals are in a panic. The North is essentially evacuated of all foreign aid workers for the moment. The French have pulled their staff, the Belgians seem likely too as well. The American Peace Corps are long gone.

What is the threat of the Salafist? It's difficult to say. Generally speaking, you are safe in town. But it's probably advised to stay out of the "brousse" for the moment, at least in the area of Tessalit, the fronteir of Algeria, and definitely around Menaka.

If you do go in brousse wear long sleeves and a turban. Travel in groups. This is good advice at any times due to the petty banditry (and let's be frank, the Salafists who are kidnapping and stealing cars are nothing but a pathetic desert mafia) that's par the course.

Although there is a general "the sky is falling" panic, again, there's nothing to indicate anything is different than it has been for the past 10 years. Gao is fine. Timbouctou is safe. Essakane is going to happen, and, like always, they'll be more security than toubabs.

And lastly, remember in the North; regardless of the Salafists intentions, they're not at home here. They're carrying out banditry in a region that is hostile to them, in an area filled with former Tuareg rebels armed to the teeth. If they are able to carry out any activity, it's not due to their strength, but to the geography of the desert.

Christopher
sahelsounds

Well, kidnapping season has started. That is what happened.

Safe in town you say, but the Frenchman was ambushed when leaving the hotel he stayed at. Same in Tahoua couple weeks ago.

Could the touaregs evict the aqim from the desert on their own if they decided that was the way to go? What do you think?
Be safe in lovely Kidal and wherever you go.

With regards to the Tuaregs, they are steadfastly against the Sadafists. Remember, the Sadafists kidnapp foreigners but they kill the Tuaregs (at least those who are in military operations, policing the desert).

The Sadafists have some support, sure. They are not so different from foreign missionaries; they travel around the brousse, distribute aide with ideology. But popular support is absent -- their movement is largely Algerian/Arab and their actions are in conflict with the Tuareg interests.

For example, watch how these militant actions affect the region. Tourism is just one facet. The real problem is the ONGs who will either pull their foreign staff, or close completely (as concerns of corruption often prevent them from funding non Western operated projects). The foreign aid is going to be blocked from the actions of the Sadafist. This is clearly bad for the region of the North. The Tuaregs have a vested interested in their region that extends to a militant nationalism. The Sadafists, on the other hand, have no interests. It's not their desert, it's just where they've been driven to hide after they were expelled from Northern Algeria.

That being said, there's a reluctance for the military to hand over extensive control to the former rebels...it's a tenative peace. If the Sadafists have their run of the desert, it's not because the Tuaregs are looking the other way, but more of a fault of the government in Bamako that wants to avoid aiding those who would demand independence of "azawad."

Hello Kirkley,

Nice blog you have. I tried to contact you by e-mail as I am writing an article for a Dutch magazine about Touareg-music, but could not find your adress. Can you send me your mail?

Greetings,
Gerbert

Yea, no problem...

ckirkley gmail com

Azawad, yes, a lovely idea, but the touaregs are too divided to between themselves to move in that direction.
If the Mali government is reluctant to remove the Aqim, they should encourage the touaregs to do the job.
But my question was if you think the touaregs are soon motivated to finish off Aqim themselves even without the go-ahead from Bamako?

The general attitude at this moment amongst those in ville (and the Ibrahim's rebels; not from a first, but second hand source), is that the problem rests in Bamako. The big gift of 4.5 million in military aid from the US, where is it?

I don't think Ibrahim Bangha's group is likely to finish AQIM. Why? It's a dangerous battle, and it's not really their fight. Everyone wants a piece of the money. Maybe they'll hold out for exactly that reason - pay us, and we'll make a move. But I don't think they'd look the other way. If I was in bush, I'd rather be accompanied by rebel than the fragile Malian military, whom maybe never even fired a shot.

That is why I am thinking there must be a point where touareg interests are so obviously hurt by Aqim presence that they decide to make a move against them.

Mali army guys generally make me nervous.

But who are the local "contractors" for AQIM. I suppose it must be some Touareg. Or not?

That is what the Mali and Niger governments wants you to believe,

Tuareg = bandit

Serves political purposes.
While certainly not all touareg abide by the law, I prefer not to pass on what is part of a dirty political game.
I would like all who travel the desert and write about it to be aware of this.

When talking with touaregs about this very old subject of who is doing what in the desert, they say that the role of the touareg is generally that of the camel conductor, guide, driver, etc. The one who actually owns the merchandise on the camels' backs is not a touareg.

Then there is the question: who is a touareg? Some are of mixed descent, say touareg mother and arab father.
So it is a complex topic.
Perhaps the kidnappings are indeed carried out by touaregs selling them on as any merchandise to the Aqim.
This is how the Canadian kidnapping in Niger was presented. As Fowler got to tell the story, there were no touaregs involved.

No official source on this, but word on the street (in Kidal) is that "the kidnapping is not due to al-qaida, but to a problem between two tamasheq tribes linked to drug smuggling."

Another rumour is that the alleged had a problem with a local chief.

Again, no source -- but just as valid as the guesswork coming out of the embassy.

Safe travels!

Good to have a pipeline straight from the street in Kidal!

It is true we don't know if any of the kidnappings is indeed Aqim.
It is all rumours. The Frenchman can have been taken by touaregs and the spaniards by Polisario.
We will see when/if they go public asking for a ransom.

Travel safe