Tilemsi Arabs
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The Tilemsi Arabs or Arabs of Gao, include Arabic-speaking populations in the northeastern region of the Niger Bend, near Gao.[1] They are distinct from the other large group of Arabic speakers in Mali, the Bérabich, who are generally more educated and hold more pro-government views.[1] The Lemhar Arabs are the largest tribe within Tilemsi Arabs, and are used as a catch-all term for the group.[1] There are other Tilemsi Arab tribes, such as the Mechdouf.[2] Both the Mechdouf and Lemhar have been in conflict since 2007, and both engage prominently in drug trafficking and ethnic militant groups in the Mali War.[3]
Historically, the Tilemsi Arabs have been vassals of the Kuntas Arabs.[1] Tilemsi oral history states that the Tilemsi arrived in modern-day Mali just before French colonization, after being asked to immigrate by the Kuntas in their war against the Iwellemmedan. The names of the original Tilemsi émigrés descend from traditional Mauritanian names, but did not follow the Mauritanian naming system. After the war, the Tilemsi that stayed in Mali accepted a lower social caste than the Kuntas.[1]
In Mali, as part of the "lahda" fraud of the 1970s, Kuntas employed Tilemsi Arabs to conduct illegal trade and smuggle goods across the Malian and Algerian borders. The Tilemsi earned enough money from the trade to overtake their former bosses economically.[4] In 2000, the accumulated success from the Tilemsi Arabs caused tensions between the Tilemsi and the Kuntas. When a Tilemsi Arab ran in local elections in 2002, Tilemsi notables refused paying the jiziya, or tribute, to Kuntas. This led to a war between the Tilemsi and Kuntas that subsided in 2006.[5]
Tilemsi Arabs are most numerous in the fourth district of Gao, which was built relatively recently.[5] The term ahl al-gibla refers to Arabic speakers of Mauritanian origin who immigrated to Gao Region recently.[1]
Mechdouf Arabs
Mechdouf Arabs and Lemhar Arabs were allied against the Kuntas until 2005, when a split resulting from drug trafficking intensified over the Mechdouf enjoying preference in government positions during the Amadou Toumani Touré.[2] This split between Mechdouf and Lemhar contributed to the split in pro-government and pro-rebel factions of the Arab Movement of Azawad.[2] Some Mechdouf Arabs also live in Mauritania.[6] In Mali, they are considered a "warrior tribe."[7]