SUMMARY

The name MPGK (Mouvement patriotique Ganda Koy, Patriotic Movement of the Ganda Koy) comes from the term Ganda Koy which in the Songhai language means » masters of the land ».

The militia MPGK was created in the spring of 1994 in the Gao region in the north of Mali. The birth of the movement was a reaction to the violence perpetrated against the black farmer population by Tuareg rebels in the context of the territorial conflict between the Tuareg rebels and the Malian government. The black farmers were victims of plundering, rapes and killings and finding that the army did not protect them, the self-defence force MPGK launched an appeal for counter insurrection against the Tuaregs. The MPGK gave itself the mission of guaranteeing the safety of the black civilians, also those in the most remote areas.

In addition to the poor security situation, the Tuareg conflict also had severe economic implications on the already under developed area. The traffic in the region was cut off and the local industry suffered. The population was frustrated and the MPGK rapidly received widespread support from the black community and became an important political force.

As reported by one of the founders of the group, the MPGK operated according to a retaliation principle where, when Tuareg rebels killed persons from the black community, the MPGK in its turn killed as many, or more, Tuaregs. This resulted in the MPGK employing one-sided violence against the civilian Tuareg population.

There were reports of links between the MPGK and the Malian army. These rumours stemmed mainly from the fact that the majority of the MPGK members were former soldiers who had deserted from the army. Also, the Malian Director of state security belonged to the same tribe, the Maiga tribe, as the bulk of the MPGK members. As a response to the allegations, the Malian government has stated that while the birth of the MPGK had positive effects in pushing the Tuareg rebels to negotiating, the government never encouraged the creation of the movement.

The leader of the MPGK, Mahamadou Maiga was, like the majority of the members, a former soldier originating from the north of the country, who had deserted from the Malian army.

In 1995, a peace accord was elaborated between the MPGK and the Tuareg rebels. The accord was signed in March 1996 in the presence of the Malian President. In a subsequent joint statement the groups announced the irreversible dissolution of both the MPGK and the Tuareg groups.

The MPGK has been involved in the one-sided category of UCDP organised violence.