Ménaka (

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

: ⵎⵏⴾⴰ) is a town and urban commune in

Ménaka Cercle Ménaka Cercle is an administrative subdivision of Ménaka Region, Mali. Its administrative center is the town of Ménaka. Ménaka Cercle's population as of 2009 was 56,104 people. Ménaka is located in the middle of the Sahara Desert, along Wad ...

and

Ménaka Region Ménaka ( Bambara: ߡߋߣߊߞߊ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Menaka Dineja) is a region of Mali legislatively created in 2012 from the cercle of the same name previously part of Gao Region. Actual implementation of the region began on 19 January 2016 with t ...

in eastern

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. It is the seat and the largest town in the ''cercle'' and region. The town is set amidst the rocky outcrops of the Ader Douchi hills, and is served by

Ménaka Airport Ménaka Airport (French: ''Aéroport de Ménaka'') is an airport serving Ménaka, a town and commune in the Ménaka Cercle in the Gao Region of Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the ...

. As of September of 2024, the town has been taken under control by the Malian government and the Plateforme, however they are under siege by the ISSP.

Tuareg rebellions

The Ménaka area was a center of Ag El Insar Firhoun's Malian rising of larger 1916 Tuareg Rebellion, and was a government garrison town in the 1961–1964, 1990–1995, and the 2007–2009 Tuareg Rebellions. Most recently, Ménaka was put under siege and the military post sacked by former rebels who had been integrated into the

Malian Army The Malian Armed Forces (, FAMa) consists of the Army (), Republic of Mali Air Force (), and National Guard. They number some 7,000 and are under the control of the Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans. The Library of Congress as of January 200 ...

in a short term rising in May–July 2006. The current

May 23, 2006 Democratic Alliance for Change The May 23, 2006 Democratic Alliance for Change (; Abbreviation, abbreviated ADC) is a Malian Tuareg people, Tuareg rebel group, formed in 2006 by ex-combatants from the Tuareg Rebellion (1990–1995), 1990s Tuareg insurgency in Mali. In 2007, spl ...

rebel group dates from this siege. On 17 January 2012, Ménaka was captured by the

National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

(MNLA), a Tuareg rebel group. On 19 November they lost their control to the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (, ), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it was then engaged in an insurgency ...

2009 kidnappings

On 25 November 2009, a French citizen named Pierre Camatte was taken hostage from a hotel in Ménaka city. A January 2010 statement issued by the

AQIM Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (, ), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it was then engaged in an insurgency c ...

, the north African branch of al-Qaeda, set an ultimatum of 20 days for the exchange of four al-Qaeda members for Pierre Camatte, after which, it said the French and Malian governments "will be fully responsible for the French hostage's life". Camatte was freed 6 weeks later following a prisoner swap deal in which the four Islamists were released.

Slavery

Malian and international Human Rights organisations pointed to Ménaka in 2008, as one of several towns in the

Gao Region Gao ( Bambara: ߜߊߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Gao Dineja) is a region in northeastern Mali. The capital city is Gao. Geography The region is bordered to the north by Kidal Region, to the west by Tombouctou Region and Taoudénit Region, to the east b ...

in which informal

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

relations persist between noble caste

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

pastoralists and thousands of sedentary low caste Bellah Tuareg.Mali: Thousands Still Live in Slavery in North
IRIN (United Nations). 14 July 2008.

Climate

References

External links

*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Menaka Regional capitals in Mali Communes of Ménaka Region Berber populated places