Aïr and Azawad Liberation Front

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The Aïr and Azawad Liberation Front ( French Front de Liberation de l'Aïr et de l'Azawad , FLAA for short ) was a paramilitary organization in Niger .

history

1991-1997

The FLAA was one of the most important irredentist Tuareg organizations of the 1990s, responsible for attacks against state and private institutions. Founded on October 19, 1991, it was the oldest of these organizations and the only one that claimed to operate in both Aïr and Azawad . Its founder and leader was Rhissa Ag Boula . The demands of the FLAA were a federal reconstruction of Niger and an end to the presence of Niger's armed forces in the Aïr and Azawad.

In its beginnings it was placed on a broad basis. It had between 400 and 800 fighters, including some veterans of the Islamic Legion . These were partially heavily armed, being on stocks from the army of ousted Chadian President Hissène Habré could access. The FLAA had two armored vehicles and about fifty off-road vehicles equipped with rocket launchers and rifles. The attacks spread over large areas in the north of the country. With surprise attacks and better knowledge of the terrain, the FLAA was often superior to Niger's armed forces . Government institutions in small towns such as Abalak , Aderbissinat , Iférouane and Ingall were frequent targets for robberies, murders and kidnappings . In addition, there were raids on larger markets and cities such as Agadez and Arlit , on businesses and development projects.

In a communiqué dated February 7, 1992, the Nigerien government recognized the existence of the FLAA for the first time and offered negotiations. Not least because of the question of who had the right to negotiate with the government, leadership disputes broke out in the organization. In June 1993, the Revolutionary Army of the Liberation of North Niger, led by Attaher Abdoulmoumine, and the Témoust Liberation Front, led by Mano Dayak , split off. In order to coordinate with one another, the various Tuareg paramilitaries formed the coordination of the armed resistance on September 11, 1993 . It also belonged to the Patriotic Front for the Liberation of the Sahara , which split from the FLAA in January 1994. The successor to the coordination of the armed resistance, the Organization of the Armed Resistance , concluded a peace treaty with the Nigerien government in Ouagadougou in April 1995 . After this contract and the additional contracts of Algiers in 1997, the FLAA was temporarily dissolved.

2004-2005

Former FLAA leader Rhissa Ag Boula, who had meanwhile been a minister in various Nigerien governments, was arrested in 2004 on charges of murder. Thereupon his brother Mohamed Ag Boula reactivated the FLAA. In a raid on a public transport bus on August 10, 2004, the FLAA took several hostages in an attempt to force the release of Rhissa Ag Boulas. With the mediation of the Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi , both the hostages and Rhissa Ag Boula were released in March 2005. The FLAA laid down its arms in a ceremony on July 15, 2005 in front of Muammar al-Gaddafi.

literature

  • Alhousseini Mouloul: Les Touaregs du Niger. Chroniques des années de braise . L'Harmattan, Paris 2016, ISBN 978-2-343-09582-0 , chapter 1.2 Le Front de Liberation de l'Aïr et de l'Azawad (FLAA) , p. 367-380 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 239 .
  2. ^ A b Emmanuel Grégoire: Touaregs du Niger. Le destin d'un mythe . 2nd Edition. Karthala, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-8111-0352-1 , pp. 51-52 .
  3. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 377 .
  4. ↑ Chékou Koré Lawel : Rébellion touareg au Niger: approche juridique et politique. (PDF) Thèse de doctorate. Université René Descartes - Paris V, 2012, p. 43 , accessed on November 14, 2015 (French).
  5. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 145 .
  6. ↑ Chékou Koré Lawel: Rébellion touareg au Niger: approche juridique et politique. (PDF) Thèse de doctorate. Université René Descartes - Paris V, 2012, p. 48 , accessed on November 14, 2015 (French).
  7. ↑ Chékou Koré Lawel: Rébellion touareg au Niger: approche juridique et politique. (PDF) Thèse de doctorate. Université René Descartes - Paris V, 2012, p. 23 , accessed on November 14, 2015 (French).
  8. ↑ Chékou Koré Lawel: Rébellion touareg au Niger: approche juridique et politique. (PDF) Thèse de doctorate. Université René Descartes - Paris V, 2012, pp. 68–69 , accessed on November 14, 2015 (French).