The northern Malian town of Tinzaouaten remains a hotspot of humanitarian and security crises following a fierce July battle between Tuareg rebels and the army, bolstered by Russian Wagner mercenaries. Caught between drone strikes, disease outbreaks, and severe flooding, residents are fleeing in droves, with many seeking refuge in neighboring Algeria.
The Tuareg rebels, who now control Tinzaouaten, have restricted access to vital supplies, including bed nets and medicines essential to combating diphtheria and malaria outbreaks. Resident Ibrahim Ag Tambarayraye lamented the dire situation: “We lack almost everything… The medicines have not arrived, and no organization has come to help us.”
Drone strikes since the conflict have killed dozens of civilians, including children and healthcare workers, further destabilizing the region. Severe flooding across the Sahel has compounded the crisis, forcing Mali to declare a state of national disaster in August.
Local doctor Moussa Bagayoko described alarming health conditions, including a diphtheria epidemic and a rise in severe malaria cases, many of which present with neuro-malaria symptoms like altered consciousness. Vaccines, anti-malarial medication, and humanitarian aid are urgently needed, he said.
Tinzaouaten’s plight is part of a broader crisis in northern Mali. Tens of thousands displaced from Menaka, Kidal, and Gao regions have passed through the town en route to Algeria, said village chief Rhissa Ag Aharib.
The region’s instability stems from a 2012 Tuareg rebellion that gave rise to Islamist insurgencies linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS. A 2015 peace accord collapsed in July, reigniting hostilities and worsening civilian suffering.
Herder Rhissa Ag Mohamed, who fled Ansongo to a displacement camp near Tinzaouaten, summed up the desperation: “I left the region of Gao, looking for peace; I am fleeing Wagner and the Malian army.”