SUMMARY
GATIA (Groupe Autodéfense Touareg Imghad et Alliés: the Self-defence Group of Imghad Touareg and its Allies) was a pro-government self-defense group that emerged in the wake of the Malian army’s withdrawal from the northern town Kidal, in May 2014.
The central government had been forced from northern Mali with the outbreak of the two state-based conflicts (one over the territory Azawad and one over government power) in 2012 (see Mali: Azawad and Mali: Government). Even though the country’s armed forces had returned to northern Mali with the help of an international intervention force, its hold on the region was tenuous, at best. Furthermore, for a long time it was not allowed back into Kidal, the separatist stronghold of CMA (originally MNLA), only re-gaining access in June 2013. In May the next year, fighting erupted between the armed forces and CMA, forcing the former to withdraw south, towards the Niger River region and to barracks in the north.
With the Malian army’s withdrawal, Kidal and a number of other northern towns were once more under the control of the separatists. The northern population is divided between a number of different ethnic groups, with the Tuareg people making up a majority of the inhabitants, followed by Arabs, Fulani and Songhay. There are deep divisions between these groups (as well as within especially the Tuareg community); they do not share the same culture or traditions and they have different interests and political agendas. These divisions have been exacerbated by the Malian state’s divide-and-rule tactics in the region. One distinct question of contention between these groups concerns the establishment of a separate state in the northern part of Mali. While this is something that especially parts of the Tuareg community have been fighting for, sections of the Arab population and the Fulani and Songhay oppose the idea, fearing that it would mean living under Tuareg domination. As for the Tuareg community, it is also deeply split on the issue. Internal divisions along clan lines have long impeded Tuareg efforts of opposition to Bamako and the south; this was the case during the rebellions in the 1990s and 2007-09 (see Mali: Azawad) and this remained so in the uprising that began in 2012. MNLA was by and large led by certain sub-clans within the Kel Adagh confederation, especially the noble Ifoghas and Idnan, based in the Kidal area. While the group strived for broad-based support among the Tuareg, especially one clan (also within the Kel Adagh confederation) remained in opposition to the new organization: the vassal Imghad, who stayed loyal to the idea of a unified Mali and fought on the side of the Bamako regime.
GATIA was a mainly Imghad armed group that was founded after the events in Kidal, but was not formally announced until August 2014. At its inception it was believed to number around 1000 well-trained fighters. Made up in part by a pre-existing Imghad militia, most analysts agree that the main core consisted of breakaway Imghad and Arab soldiers from the Malian army, led by General El Hajj ag Gamou. Ag Gamou was an in important Imghad, who had been involved in the Tuareg uprising in the 1990s. After the signing of a peace deal, he joined the Malian army, where he rose in the ranks and became Deputy Chief of Staff in 2010. Since he kept his position in the army, his role in the creation of GATIA indicated the close link between the two, even though it was strongly denied by the state. The group’s Secretary General was Fahad Ag Almahoud.
The main aim of GATIA, as outlined by Ag Almahoud, was to protect its communities against CMA. He then went on to say that the members of the group “support the peace process, […] recognize the territorial integrity of Mali and […] are not asking for autonomy. We want to work with the Malian government to bring stability to the country”. It was also clear that the leaders of the group realized that only armed groups were given seats at the negotiation table, wherefore forming one was a necessity to have a say.
Aside from its links with the government, GATIA was also allied with a number of other actors in northern Mali. In 2014, two groupings of armed movements were slowly forming in the context of the ongoing peace negotiations: Bamako-loyalists and those in favor of extensive autonomy or even independence. The former united under the banner Platform, whereas the latter was called CMA. In August, GATIA joined the Platform alliance, and as such came to cooperate closely with its member groups: MAA and CM-FPR. However, despite intermittently fighting together, the groups failed to create a joint military structure, which its opponent CMA did.
GATIA has been active in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.
