Opposition candidate Soumaïla Cissé kidnapped in Mali
- Candidate Soumaïla Cissé was kidnapped on 25 March during her campaign for parliamentary elections in Madrid. The votes are scheduled for Sunday, when the plenary session is held. Since 2012, this people in West Africa have been embroiled in a wartime environment, in which jihadists are repeating attacks.
Opposition politician Soumaïla Cissé has been missing since 25 March in Mali, where he is in hospital. Unknown people have kidnapped Kari when he was campaigning in the city of Niafunke for the elections of the Basque Parliament. The member of the Union for Republic and Democracy (URD) has been kidnapped following the elections on 29 March.
The kidnapping has been confirmed by two people nearby, as well as by the Government of Mali itself. The Government has confirmed that it has in place all necessary measures to be re-detected in the country.
Cissé, who has been a candidate for the Presidency of the Government several times, is on this occasion seeking a seat in the Basque Parliament. It's not the first kidnapping. Mohameb Ag Ahmed, Batasuna candidate for Mali, disappeared on 17 March and was released by the kidnappers the following day.
The war, since 2012
The last decade has been marked by a climate of war in Mali, following the revolt initiated in 2012 by the Tuareg independence group MNLA and the Tuareg Islamist group Ansar Dine. A year earlier, the murder of Muammar Gaddafi and the end of the Libyan regime caused the Tuaregs, who were working for Gaddafi, to return to Mali with a lot of weapons in their hands. Most of them were on the front line of the revolt. The West African Unity Movement and the Jihada MUJAO and the Islamist extremist group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) also joined the revolt. With the Malian army hit at the border, with a big slap, the army turned against political power, giving a coup d’état on 22 March 2012. However, the army that came to political power did not succeed in fighting the insurgents and Northern Mali was declared independent by the MNLA on 6 April of that year.
Soon the discrepancies between these different groups were widening and, in addition to acting against power, they have faced each other since then. Since 2012, several international states have had their hand in the war in Mali, among others, France – after its economic and military interests since colonialism –, Tchad, the UN, the Organization of the African Union and the armed forces of the Western African States. The situation has worsened since January 2013, when attacks by government opponents have spread from north to south.
After several attempts, in 2015 the Alger agreement between the Government of Mali and the Coordination of CMA Azawad Movements was signed – in which the CMA found gaps, among other reasons because there were no guarantees of the autonomy of Northern Mali or federalism, but had to sign it under international pressure. Nevertheless, jihadists are repeating their attacks, which frustrates the ongoing peace process. Bamako does not want to negotiate with them without guarantees. Despite the truce of several groups, which is not fully respected, it is not possible at the moment to negotiate.
The war in Mali, which has been going on since 2012, has caused thousands of deaths and refugees.
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