Islamist rebels seize key Mali town

Islamic extremists have seized control of the strategic town of Douentza, moving much closer to government-held territory in central Mali.

Residents said that early yesterday morning, a convoy of pick-up trucks carrying bearded men entered the town, 500 miles north east of the capital Bamako.

While far from the West African nation’s capital, Douentza is only 120 miles from Mopti, which marks the line-of-control held by the Malian military.

Islamist leader Oumar Ould Hamaha said the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, known by the French acronym MUJAO, had seized Douentza after a brief stand-off with the local self-defence militia, which formerly controlled the town. The head of the militia could not be reached.

The Malian military lost control of the northern half of the country in April, including the town of Douentza. But up until now, the Islamists did not have a presence in the town either, relying instead on an agreement with the local militia, which patrolled the area.

Mr Hamaha said they had “closed their eyes” to numerous things that the secular militia was doing.

They had lost patience, however, in recent days after it became clear that the militia was attempting to operate independently, insisting on holding on to their own name (“ganda-iso”, which means “sons of the land” in the local Sonrai language).

“I told my elements that we need to get rid of these people because they are refusing to respect us. We gave them the authorisation to come to this place, and now they want to work independently of us,” Mr Hamaha said yesterday.

“In the morning, when we encircled the town, we told them (the militia) to turn in their arms. They resisted a little. They tried to make phone calls to ask for reinforcements, but when they saw that no-one was coming to help them they laid down their arms in order to avoid a bloodbath. We tied them up and they are now with us.”

Moussa Ongoiba, a resident of Douentza, said that he counted at least 10 pick-up trucks carrying the Islamists. After patrolling the town the rebels took over a hotel at the entrance to Douentza, which now serves as their military base, he said.

Another resident, Oumar Samba, said that after settling in, the Islamists called a meeting with the mayor’s office and the town’s major civic organisations. The townsmen asked MUJAO to return the arms they had seized from the self-defence militia.

“The mayor’s office and civic leaders demanded that they return the arms taken from the militia,” said Mr Samba. “But the Islamists did not accept. Many of the members of the militia have fled in order to leave Douentza. The rest that stayed behind have been detained by the Islamists.”

The fall of Douentza shows that Islamist forces are gaining territory and moving closer to southern Mali.

Until March, Mali was considered one of the most stable countries in the region, with a 20-year history of holding democratic elections. That changed in a matter of hours on March 21, when renegade soldiers overthrew the elected government, installing themselves as the new leaders by the next morning.

The coup plunged the nation into disarray, providing an opening for the Islamists in Mali’s far north.

The extremists have since made huge gains, taking the entire northern half of Mali, including Timbuktu, and causing some 440,000 people to flee, according to the United Nations.

Since April, however, the unofficial line of control between the government-controlled south and the rebel-held north has not shifted. Yesterday’s development indicates the Islamists may have ambitions beyond the north, which unlike the more developed south, is sparsely populated and largely made up of desert.

Asked if his group planned to hold Douentza, Mr Hamaha said: “We never retreat. Even if we don’t advance any further, we will not go backward.”

However, when asked specifically if they planned to try to take Bamako, he said that they would only advance on the capital if the Malian military provoked them.

“If ever the Malian military attempts to take back the north, then in less than 24 hours, we will take the quasi-totality of Bamako and the black flag of the Islamists will fly over Koulouba,” he said, mentioning the name of the presidential palace in Mali’s capital.