Andéramboukane
| Andéramboukane | |
|---|---|
| Commune and town | |
  Andéramboukane Location in Mali | |
| Coordinates: 15°25′42″N 3°1′6″E / 15.42833°N 3.01833°ECoordinates: 15°25′42″N 3°1′6″E / 15.42833°N 3.01833°E | |
| Country |
 Mali |
| Region | Gao Region |
| Cercle | Ménaka Cercle |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 6,684 km2 (2,581 sq mi) |
| Population (2009 census)[2] | |
| • Total | 18,688 |
| • Density | 2.8/km2 (7.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+0) |
Andéramboukane (var. Andéramboucane) is a town and one of five Rural Communes in the Ménaka Cercle of the Gao Region of Mali. It lies at the extreme east of the country, several kilometers north of the Nigerien border. Andéramboukane is a rural, isolated, and largely desert area, crisscrossed by seasonal wadis, part of an ancient dry river system of the Azawagh region (the Iullemmeden Basin). The area is just south of the rocky outcrops of the Ader Douchi hills, and north of the Sahel scrubland which begins in Niger. Most of the population of the area are nomadic Tuareg or other nomadic minorities, including the Wodaabe Fula. The sedentary population is a largely low caste Tuareg community. The town is a seasonal gathering point for the Kel Dinnik Tuareg confederation, who travel from the desert Azawagh in the rainy season and the Niger River valley in the dry season.[3] Since the 1990s, the town has hosted a formalised version of the traditional fairs that take place at beginning of the southward transhumance cycle. This festival, named Tamadacht, has become a showcase of traditional and contemporary Tuareg and Wodaabe music, dance, sport, performance, and arts.
Lawlessness
The area around Andéramboukane has a reputation for lawlessness. Since the 1990s, there have been conflicts between Nigerien Fula and Malian Tuareg cattle herders in the area, and the theft of animals has been a regular occurrence. In addition, the vast empty border region is used as a route to smuggle drugs, alcohol, weapons and illegal migrants from tropical Africa to the Mediterranean.[4]
Andéramboukane was a center of Ag El Insar Firhoun's Malian rising in the larger 1916 Tuareg Rebellion, after Firhoun's rebels fled the French colonial forces from their homes near Goundam in the Timbuktu area. The region was controlled by rebel forces during the 1961–1964, 1990–1995, 2007–2009, and the 2011–present Tuareg Rebellions.
2009 kidnapping
On 22 January 2009, four foreign tourists were kidnapped in Ménaka Cercle, while traveling by car from a festival at Anderamboukané on the main road to Ménaka, and on to Gao. One Briton, one German, and two Swiss citizens were reportedly kidnapped. One of their vehicles escaped the attack, and one which was seized was later found abandoned across the border near Bani-Bangou, Niger.[5][6][7][8]
On 1 June, an Al-Qaeda website claimed that the Briton, Edwin Dyer, had been killed following demands for the release of the radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada from a British jail.[9]
References
- ↑ Common and Fundamental Operational Datasets Registry: Mali, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. commune_mali.zip (Originally from the Direction Nationale des Collectivités Territoriales, République du Mali)
- ↑ Resultats Provisoires RGPH 2009 (Région de Gao) (PDF) (in French), République de Mali: Institut National de la Statistique.
- ↑ Imperato, Pascal James (1986). Historical Dictionary of Mali. Metuchen NJ - London: Scarecrow Press. pp. 85, 144–145, 193. ISBN 0-8108-1369-6.
- ↑ Une zone désertique et dangereuse. RSR Swiss news. 23 January 2009.
- ↑ Tourists 'kidnapped in Niger'. January 22, 2009. AFP.
- ↑ Mali - Niger. Des touristes européens enlevés au Niger. January 22, 2009. Afrik
- ↑ European tourists seized in Niger. 23 January 2009. Al Jazeera.
- ↑ Mali says Tuareg rebels abduct group of tourists. Thu Jan 22, 2009. Reuters.
- ↑ Al-Qaeda 'kills British hostage'
External links
- Plan de Sécurité Alimentaire Commune Rurale de Anderamboukane 2005-2009 (PDF) (in French), Commissariat à la Sécurité Alimentaire, République du Mali, USAID-Mali, 2005.
- Etude Santé Mobile: Analyse de l’état de la santé mobile à Andéramboukane et propositions pour rendre le système plus efficace et durable (English summary) (in French), Stagiaire SNV Gao.
- Situation des points d'eau modernes au Mali en 2003: Commune de Anderamboukane, Ministère des Mines, de l'Energie et de l'Eau, République du Mali, 2003.
