The Niger-Mali Tuareg Alliance (French: Alliance Touareg Niger-Mali), abbreviated ATNM was a political and military organization between Malian Tuaregs of the Adrar des Ifoghas and Nigerien Tuaregs.
Niger-Mali Tuareg Alliance | |
---|---|
Alliance Touareg Niger-Mali | |
Leaders | Ibrahim Ag Bahanga Hassan Ag Fagaga |
Dates of operation | July 2006 - 2009 |
Split from | May 23, 2006 Democratic Alliance for Change |
Ideology | Tuareg nationalism |
Size | 100-1,000[1] 3,000 (per Bahanga) |
Opponents | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Battles and wars | Tinzaouaten attack (2007) Battle of Nampala (2008) |
History
The ATNM was founded between July 25 and 27, 2006 by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga following disagreements with the recently signed Algiers Accords, claiming they were not being implemented.[1] The ATNM was a splinter group from the May 23, 2006 Democratic Alliance for Change (ADC), which Bahanga was a founder of.[1] The first attack by the group was in Tinzaouaten on May 11, 2007, which left eight fighters dead and two Malian soldiers dead.[1] A second attack in Tedjeret saw sixty Nigerien soldiers taken hostage by ATNM.[1] Following this attack, Hassan Ag Fagaga joined the ATNM.[1]
The group was alleged to have contacts with drug traffickers in Mali and Niger.[1] While the Malian government alleged links between ATNM and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Bahanga denied any connection with AQIM.[1] Fagaga and Bahanga's leadership and heavy losses among ATNM fighters caused the group to decline, and the group disarmed in 2009 when Libya offered monetary compensation to the fighters.[2]