Fahad Ag Almahmoud (died 1 December 2024) was a Malian Imghad Tuareg militant who served as the secretary-general of

GATIA The Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (french: Groupe autodéfense touareg Imghad et alliés, Abbreviation, abbreviated GATIA) is an armed group in Azawad, Mali. Many of its 500 to 1,000 fighters are Tuareg people#Nobility, vassals and ...

from its formation in 2014 until 2023, when he split from the group and formed his own faction of GATIA.

Biography

Almahmoud first began serving in GATIA at the start of the group's foundation in 2014, where he became the secretary-general of the group. Almahmoud was an Imghad Tuareg, the Tuareg clan that predominantly composes GATIA. He often served as the spokesperson for the group as well, conducting numerous interviews with Malian and international media. In 2019, Almahmoud stated that he believed that the Algiers Agreement did not resolve insecurity in northern Mali, and that there was no governance coming from the Malian government. Almahmoud also stated he didn't believe in

Azawad Azawad, or Azawagh ( Tuareg: Azawaɣ, or Azawad; ar, أزواد) was a short-lived unrecognised state from 2012 to 2013. Azawagh (''Azawaɣ'') is the generic Tuareg Berber name of all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of M ...

ian independence. Between March and August 2022, Almahmoud served as the president of the CSP-PSD, a coalition composed of pro-government and former rebel minority militant groups. His predecessor was Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) founder and leader

Bilal Ag Acherif Bilal Ag Acherif () (born 1977 in Kidal Region, Mali, last name alternatively spelled Cherif) is the Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and president of a briefly independent Azawad. In 1993, he left M ...

, making Almahmoud's election as president a major reconciliation between GATIA and the CMA. In July 2023, as tensions escalated between the CSP-PSD and the Malian junta over the latter's growing violations of the Algiers Agreement, Almahmoud was kicked out of the

Platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system ...

coalition which GATIA is a part of due to his criticism of the Malian government. Almahmoud was also fired from his role as secretary-general of GATIA, and Youssef Ag Mohamed was appointed his successor. Almahmoud stated that he had been fired unjustly for his criticisms, and that GATIA commander

El Hadj Ag Gamou El Hadj Ag Gamou, born December 31, 1964, in Tidermène, Mali, is an Imghad Tuareg Malian division general. Gamou is currently the governor of Kidal Region since November 22, 2023, and has also been the head of his faction of Imghad Tuareg Self ...

and Malian Minister of National Reconciliation Ismaël Wagué had planned his firing. When these tensions escalated into a war between the Malian government and CSP-PSD in September, Almahmoud created his own faction of the group. This faction was recognized as the legitimate faction of GATIA by other members of the CSP-PSD. In December 2023, Almahmoud and other leaders of the CSP were supported by Algeria in holding up the Algiers Accords. In March 2024, Almahmoud was declared a terrorist by the Malian junta along with other members of the CSP-PSD. On 1 December 2024, Almahmoud was killed in a drone strike by the Malian army alongside seven other Tuareg separatist leaders in

Tinzaouaten Tinzaouaten (var. Tinzawatene and Tin-Zaouatene, Arabic: تين ظواتين) is a Saharan rural commune in the far northeast of Mali on the Algerian border. The commune is in the Abeïbara Cercle of the Kidal Region. It included a stop on a tran ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almahmoud, Fahad Ag 20th-century births Year of birth missing 2024 deaths People killed in the Mali War Tuareg people Deaths by Malian drone strikes