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Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré is a Malian military officer and whisteblower who was detained in 2024 after publishing a book documenting human rights abuses by the Malian Armed Forces.

Career[edit]

Sangaré joined the National Gendarmerie, a military force with law enforcement duties, after graduating from a military school in 1999 in Koulikoro, where he trained alongside Abdoulaye Maïga; his father had also been a police officer.[1][2][3] Following the 2020 coup d'état, which saw the removal of the government of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and the establishment of a military junta, Sangaré became the commander of the newly established Bamako gendarmerie region. He attained the rank of colonel within the Malian Armed Forces.[4][5]

Following the 2020 coup d'état, Sangaré had called for a transition to a civilian-led government.[4]

Sangaré obtained a masters degree from Wilmington University in Delaware in the United States. In August 2022, Sangaré defended his PhD thesis, entitled "Terrorism and the fight against terrorism in Mali: problems, issues and institutional challenges" at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal.[3]

Whistleblowing and arrest[edit]

In 2023, Sangaré published a book entitled Mali: The Challenge of Terrorism in Africa (French: Mali: le défi du terrorisme en Afrique), in which he criticised the Malian Armed Forces for abusing human rights during its ongoing fight against the Islamist insurgency in northern Mali from 2016.[6][7][8] Citing research from his doctoral thesis as well as reports from international human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch, the book detailed extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary arrests of people suspected to be supportive of Islamists.[2][9][10] Sangaré concluded that the abuses occurred with the complicity of the military hierarchy.[11]

Initially published to little national attention, Sangaré and the book received greater notice following a signing at the Bamako Peacekeeping School on 24 February 2024, which was attended by government workers including Abdoulaye Maïga, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation and former acting Prime Minister of Mali.[1][3] On 1 March 2024, Mali: The Challenge of Terrorism in Africa was denounced in a statement by the Ministry of Defence, who accused Sangaré of making "false accusations" against the Malian Armed Forces.[1][7][12] Maïga also released a statement distancing himself from Sangaré and stating he had not read the book prior to attending the event.[2][13]

On 2 March 2024, Sangaré was abducted from his home in Bamako by unidentified hooded men, who drove away in a vehicle without licence plates.[1][14] On 3 February 2024, his family confirmed his disappearance to Agence France-Presse.[6][11] Later that day, the Malian military confirmed Sangaré's arrest, but did not confirm where he was being detained.[15] An anonymous source stated Sangaré's arrest without a warrant had been justified due to his status as a colonel criticising the military.[1] Sangaré was later reported to be being detained at a gendarmerie camp in Bamako.[3]

Response[edit]

Human Rights Watch criticised Sangaré's arrest as evidence of Malian authorities attacking whistleblowers rather than addressing the abuses being reported on, and called for Sangaré's immediate release.[1]

Works[edit]

  • Sangaré, Alpha Yaya. Mali: le défi du terrorisme en Afrique. Ivry-sur-Seine: Points Sur Les I Eds Les. 2023. ISBN 2359302558.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mali: Security Force Whistleblower Arrested". Human Rights Watch. 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Pourfendeur des putschistes, le colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré arrêté" [Slayer of putschists, Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré arrested]. Le Soir d'Algérie (in French). 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Laplace, Manon (2 April 2024). "Who is Alpha Yaya Sangaré, the Malian colonel arrested after publication of his book?". The Africa Report. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Les putschistes maliens appellent au calme" [Malian putschists call for calm]. Deutsche Welle (in French). 19 August 2020. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  5. ^ Samba Diallo, Moussa (12 February 2020). "Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré, commandant de la région de gendarmerie de Bamako: Nous traquerons tous les bandits qui perturbent le sommeil des Bamakois et environs" [Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré, commander of the Bamako gendarmerie region: “We will track down all the bandits who disturb the sleep of Bamako residents and surrounding areas”]. Malijet (in French). Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Africa Live this week". BBC News. 4–10 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Au Mali, le livre d'un colonel le mène en prison" [In Mali, a colonel's book lands him in prison]. Jeune Afrique (in French). 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  8. ^ Bénjamin, Babou (4 March 2024). "Colonel Yaya Sangare arafunzwe" [Colonel Yaya Sangaré imprisoned]. Bwiza (in Kinyarwanda). Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  9. ^ Daniel, Serge (3 March 2024). "Mali: polémique après la parution du livre d'un colonel évoquant "des exactions" de l'armée" [Mali: controversy after the publication of a colonel's book describing "abuses" by the army]. Radio France Internationale (in French). Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  10. ^ Dramane, Alassane (4 March 2024). "Mali: Le colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré, auteur d'un livre critique sur l'armée, arrêté" [Mali: Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré, author of a critical book on the army, arrested]. Kéwoulo (in French). Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Mali Junta Arrests Colonel Alleging Army Abuses". Voice of Africa. 3 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  12. ^ Bagayoko, Adama (3 March 2024). "Indignation du ministère de la Défense face aux accusations du Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré" [Indignation of the Ministry of Defence over the accusations of Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré]. Mali Actu (in French). Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  13. ^ "In Mali, we don't mess with the army". Le Journal de l'Afrique. 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Mali: Le colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré aux arrêts!" [Mali: Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré under arrest!]. Malijet (in French). 3 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  15. ^ Daniel, Serge (3 March 2024). "Mali: le colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré, auteur d'un livre critique sur l'armée, arrêté" [Mali: Colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré, author of a critical book on the army, arrested]. Radio France Internationale (in French). Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Yaya_Sangar%C3%A9

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