Some transporters and victims have recorded up to 22 cars which have been hijacked over a period of less than four months. The last one has been on March 10 2015 around 11h30. The privately rented car was hijacked about 20 kilometres away from Timbuktu in the area of Tintelout.

The vehicle in question had been rented by the German NGO Welthungerhilfe in order to carry out a mission to pay out wages to the impoverished populations employed by the NGO in the municipalities of Douekiré, Goundam and Tonka in the Goundam district. On board the car, there was over nine millions CFA (13 700 Euro).

Less than 20 kms away, the driver was forced to stop under firing from machine guns, or Kalashnikov, according to the empty cartridge picked up by the victims. Two youth in their twenties, well-armed, ordered them to get out of the car. Hands tied in their back; the driver and the project assistant were thrown to the back of the car. Aliou Baba the driver says they were then driven away from the road. 5km further away, the attackers stopped by a bush and ordered the NGO mission representative to help embark a Sanili motorbike which was hidden there, probably the bike kidnappers used to get closer to the road.

The ordeal was not over, as Aliou recalls, it was another 25 kms away from the main road that they were liberated, but not before being robbed of all their belongings. The bandits handed them over with a 4 litres water container showing them the road to follow.

The driver then tells that «these youths told us that they are not for the so-called Algiers agreement and that they are not going to sign it. One of them told us: ‘Even tomorrow, we will come back to that road to kidnap and disturb traffic, whoever is a man, let him try to stop us’»

Under full anonymity, all the people contacted here in Timbuktu agreed to say that these justifications are just excuses. These youths try to justify these holdups with their opposition to the agreement obtained by the Algerian mediation. Some say that this is a need for money as the hijacked cars are sold at the Mauritanian or Algerian border to buy goods.

Others claim that this is a way to bring ethnicity to the issue as only the cars belonging to black skinned people are actually kidnapped. The cars belonging to Arabs or Tuaregs, if ever hijacked, are later returned to their owners. This would be a way to excite the wrath of the Black community so it would turn against the businesses of Arabs and Tamasheks who willingly retuned to North Mali and started their business again. Among the less aggressive analysts, one finds those who think that these attacks are just a sign of the instability in the region.
Cases of car hijacks are numerous: one recorded those of the hydraulic service, the child protection and woman promotion service, the NGO Lux-développement, and these of 3 transporters who sell goods at the weekly markets in villages. In the latter case, their cars were drenched in petrol and burned down.

Ibrahim Guindo is a car mechanics : he claims that this term, about 22 vehicles ere hijacked on that road and that no solution has been proposed by either the State or MINUSMA (Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation au Mali) to discourage the bandits.

For the populations of the cities, this means confusion and anguish. Many inhabitants of Diré, Goundam and Niafunké cannot circulate freely and this is unacceptable. So they question «What is the point to have here the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces), or even MINUSMA and to what use the ceasefire is signed by all fighting parties? »

The situation has smothered the city of Timbuktu and has spelled agony for municipalities in Goundam, Diré and Niafunké. Should a solution be not found, even humanitarian organisations could leave and abandon the populations in their already severe poverty. For these populations, life has been summed up with «when is the next free food distribution? When will humanitarian NGOs come and treat our sick ones? ». The people lack drinkable water, medicine, schools for their kids. Today, moving from one village to the next is a problem. The rare shopkeepers still active in these far away lawless areas are forced to reduce their trade as they are often potential targets. The case of the village Bamba (145km east of Timbuktu) is a telling tale among others: shops have been cleared empty of all goods.

For the brand new governor of the region, Adama Kansaye, all these actions are purposely set up to sabotage the cease fire and as many attempts to prevent the agreement to be finally signed up: ”this is pure provocation; and the Malian government will not yield”. To restore the safety road Timbuktu-Goundam, he suggests organising convoys twice a week under armed escorts, until the return of a true and lasting peace among all Malians.