Ganda Iso
Ganda Iso, or Ganda Izo, meaning "Sons of Land", is a fighting group which emerged in Northern Mali in the XXIst century and fights against the Tuareg secessionists[1]. Some of its fighters are songhai[1]. It is active in the Gao Region[1].
Ganda Iso is seen as the successor of Ganda Koy[2].
In August 2010, Ganda Koy founder Seydou Cissé says in Bamako newspaper L'Indépendant that he created Ganda Iso in 2009 for the goal of "maintaining social stability in the region"[2].
In 2008 Ganda Iso military leader, Sergeant Amadou Diallo, conducted a "broad daylight massacre" where four Tuareg civilians were killed. This resulted into a split between Diallo and the civilian leadership of the movement[2].
Amadou Diallo was reportedly killed on 25 March 2012[2].
On 1 September 2012, the town of Douentza, in the Mopti Region, until then controlled by Ganda Iso, is taken by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa[3].
References
- ^ a b c Mahjar-Barducci, Anna (6 July 2012). "MNLA: The Fight For A Secular State Of Azawad – Part II: Fighting Terror In The Sahel". Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.854. Middle East Media Research Institute. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d McGregor, Andrew (20 April 2012). ""The Sons of the Land": Tribal Challenges to the Tuareg Conquest of Northern Mali". Terrorism Monitor Volume: 10 Issue: 8. Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ "Mali: des islamistes à la lisière Nord-Sud". Le Figaro. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.