The Franco-Iranian War in Mali
I have already described the Arab Spring of Libya. For a full description see “Iran’s Role in the Arab Spring of Libya”.
https://iakal.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/irans-role-in-the-arab-spring-of-libya/
But I would like to write a quick summary. Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan socialist dictator, had made an agreement with the French President Nichola Sarkozy, according to which France would construct a nuclear production plant in Libya, and I guess in return Qaddafi would stop supporting the Tuaregs or other insurgents of West Africa against France.
Moreover Qaddafi was an enemy of Sudan and Hezbollah, two very strong Iranian allies, and he was also an enemy of Qatar, a strong Turkish ally. Qaddafi, together with Chad, were supporting rebel groups in South Sudan, and with its alliance with Chad, Qaddafi was a constraint for Iran’s ambition in West Africa.
Moreover in 2003 Qaddafi betrayed the Pakistanis, who were selling to Iran and Libya nuclear technology in the black market, when Qaddafi surrendered his nuclear equipment to the Americans. Since 2002 Qaddafi was cooperating with the Americans, the English and the French against Al-Qaeda. See “The Cooperation Between George Bush and the Libyan Dictator Against Al-Qaeda”.
Sudan was supporting the Islamists of Cyreneica i.e. the eastern part of Libya, who did not like Qaddafi. Qaddafi was from Tripolitania.
Map Ethnic Groups of Libya
All the above problems in the Libyan-Iranian relations weighted more than the traditional alliance between Libya and Iran against the Saudi King, since their traditional alliance against the United States were already broken. That’s why Iran was very happy when the special forces of Sudan, Hezbollah and Qatar entered Libya, and that’s why the Saudi King, who deeply hated Qaddafi was not happy. The Saudi King knew that in Libya he could not match Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Hezbollah and Qatar.
And that’s why Algeria, another country with problems with Islamist rebels started sending mercenaries to Qaddafi in order to keep him in power. Many countries were sending troops to Qaddafi, either because they were his allies, or because they were afraid of the rise of Islamists in the post-Qaddafi Libya. Algeria, Chad, Mali, Niger, Kenya, were among the countries who sent mercenaries to Qaddafi. See the International Business Times “Zimbabwe and Algeria sending troops to support Gaddafi in Libya war?”, June 2011.
Algeria and Libya had Al-Qaeda as a common enemy, and the Algerians knew that if the Islamists who were supported by Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Qatar and Hezbollah gained control of Libya and the armaments of Qaddafi, they would sooner or later create problems in Algeria. For Algeria’s effort to save Qaddafi see the Huffington Post Huffington Post “The Algerian Connection”, Septemnber 2011.
After all Algeria was the country that agreed to the Nigeria-Niger-Algeria natural gas pipeline in 2009. As you can read at the following Wall Street Journal article the French Total and the Italian ENI express an interest in the pipeline. See “African Nations Sign Deal for Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline”, July 2009.
Germany also did not want to see the Islamists taking Algeria too, and the Germans approved a 10 billion dollar sale of weapons to Algeria in 2011. See “Germany okays 10 bln euro defence deal with Algeria”, July 2011.
When the special forces of Sudan and Hezbollah entered Libya there was a race between the French and the Islamists for Libya. There was “a struggle for Libya”. Remember that the French were exposed when they supported their allies, and socialist dictators, of Tunisia and Egypt, who were eventually overturned by the Muslim Brotherhood in 2011.
While there was this race for Libya between the French and the Islamists, the Iranians were shouting that NATO should stay out of Libya, while the Turks were demanding that France surrendered her leadership over the NATO operations. See Financial Times “Turkey attacks France on Libya ‘crusade’, March 2011.
Obviously if the French were leading the operations against Qaddafi they could exchange air coverage for support on the ground from the rebels. Italy did not want to attack Qaddafi, but when Qaddafi said that he would give the contracts of ENI to Russia and China if they saved him Italy attacked him too.
When Qaddafi fall, Iran, Turkey, Sudan and Qatar got hold of whole storehouses of his weapons, and started passing them to the rebel groups of Africa they supported, or transferring them to Sudan. For a great article see World Tribune “Post-Gadhafi Libya now a jihadist springboard backed by Iran, Qatar, Sudan and Turkey”, March 2015.
Map Libya
You can see on the map that after Qaddafi fall Iran, Sudan, Qatar and Turkey could use Libya and the armaments of Qaddafi that they had managed to get hold of, in order to support rebel groups in West Africa.
The national socialist French politician Marin Le Pen accused Qatar, which is actually a French ally, but
which is threatened by the Trans-Saharan Pipeline, for supporting rebel groups
against France.
Marin Le Pen also said that Qatar
did not want France to
intervene in Mali, because Qatar’s radical friends in Mali would be
in danger. See France24 “Is Qatar
fuelling the crisis in north Mali?”,
January 2013.
I have mentioned in the past the rebellion of the Tuareg warriors in Mali. See “The Rebellion of the Tuareg Warriors in 2012”.
https://iakal.wordpress.com/2016/01/27/the-rebellion-of-the-tuareg-desert-warrior-in-2012/
Qaddafi traditionally used the Tuaregs as mercenaries against his enemies.
Map Tuareg Regions
When Qaddafi fall the Tuaregs he were paying to fight on his side were left with his advanced weaponry, and they aligned with their ex-enemy Al-Qaeda, in order to create an Islamic state in Mali. For the unholy alliance between Al-Qaeda, which was supported by Iran and Sudan, and the Tuaregs, who were supported by Qaddafi in the past, in order to fight the Malian government, who was supported by France, you can read the Economist “An unholy alliance”, June 2012..
At the following map you can see the ethnic groups of Mali. The Tuaregs, who are not the largest ethnic group, live at the northern part of the country i.e. parts of the deserts of Sahara. The largest ethnic groups are the French allies.
Map Ethnic Groups of Mali
At the following map you can see with pink the areas that were controlled by the Tuaregs and Al-Qaeda after the 2012 rebellion that followed the fall of Qaddafi.
Map The War in Mali
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Mali_conflict#/media/File:Northern_Mali_conflict.svg
The French army intervened in Mali, and started hunting Al-Qaeda fighters. Among others the French killed in Mali the leader of the Sudanese Al-Qaeda, who went to Mali to fight the French. See the Sudan Tribune “Leader of Al-Qaeda in Sudan killed in Mali”, February 2013.
The French saw in a completely different way the Tuaregs, who were an ex-Qaddafi ally, and Al-Qaeda, who was supported by Iran and Sudan. That’s why the French Foreign Minister said that France could negotiate with the Tuaregs but not with Al-Qaeda. See Reuters “France urges talks with Mali rebels, unity against al Qaeda”, April 2012.
Finally the Tuaregs changed sides, and they started fighting Al-Qaeda. See Wikipedia “Northern Mali conflict: MNLA realigns with the Malian Government”.
The Turkish President Tayip Erdogan said that the French intervention in Mali was a crusade, and a few days ago, during a speech in Niger, he said that the French are colonialists, and Turkey would never act like France. See the American state-owned Voice of America “Turkey Reinforces 'Hands Off' Policy on Mali”, January 2013.
Chad sent troops to fight Al-Qaeda next to the French. See the Christian Science Monitor “In Mali fight, Chad proves a powerful partner for France”, March 2013.
