The Tuareg Nation - Reportage by Getty Images35, works on Tuareg swords in his workshop on September 30, 2009 in Agadez city, Niger. Tuareg swords are seen as an important symbol for

The Tuareg NationPhotographs & Text by

Brent Stirton

The Tuareg are the traditional desert no-mads of the Sahara. This essay attempts to illuminate this mysterious warrior tribe, their traditions, their way of life in the world’s harshest environment and their problems as they transition into a mod-ern culture. It also takes an inside look at elements of the Tuareg Rebellion, a week deep inside the Aire Mountains of North-ern Niger with all three of the rebel factions.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Tuareg were the last of the West African peoples to be defeated by the French. Their lands were absorbed into parts of Niger, Mali, Algeria, and Libya. Those governments ignored their fractious Tuareg minorities, leaving them to wander the desert with their flocks of camels and goats.

People of M.N.J, The Movement of Justice in Niger, a Tuareg led rebellion against the Niger government for reasons of perceived discrimination, social injustice and resource ownership in Niger's growing Uranium and natural resources.

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Two Tuareg men drive a traditional Camel caravan laiden with salt tablets on twenty camels making the 16 day journey through the desert from Taodenni, a salt mine in the north of Mali, to the home of an Arab businessman.

An impoverished Tuareg man leads one of the last salt camel caravans down from the saltmines.

In recent decades, as climate change saw less and less rain fall during the wet season; Tuareg families struggled to sustain sizable herds. "Ani-mals are everything to a Tuareg," an elderly no-mad explained, "We drink their milk, we eat their meat, we use their skin, we trade them. When the animals die, the Tuareg dies."With their herds declining and their lifestyles threatened, many Tuareg in Niger and Mali be-gan asking why their government wasn't shar-ing the wealth derived from the rich uranium deposits that for decades have been mined from Tuareg grazing lands. During the 1990s a Tuareg militia, many of its members trained and armed by Qaddafi, fought the Niger army over the issue. A peace accord was signed, but little changed.

In 2007 the government was negotiating con-tracts with France projected to make Niger the world's second largest uranium producer. More deals allowed foreign companies to explore the desert for other resources. With the nation mired in poverty and the government refusing to make meaningful investments in Tuareg-dominated areas, the nomads rebelled again. Meanwhile, drug smugglers and a North African offshoot of al Qaeda established themselves in the region. The Niger government conveniently accused the Tuareg of being involved in both.For several years, the group now known as Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) has launched at-tacks in Algeria from remote bases inside Alge-ria and across the border in the northern desert of Mali. More recently, they have begun staging

attacks in Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, while steadily courting support from among Arabic-speaking, nomadic clans sprinkled throughout in the desert.To fund their activities, AQIM has kidnapped Westerners (47 since 2003), netting an estimat-ed $100 million in ransoms. Their coffers have been further bolstered by protection money from South American drug cartels, which smug-gle cocaine through the desert to the Mediter-ranean coast and on to Europe where demand for the drug continues to grow. According to Interpol, some $2.2 billion worth of cocaine is funneled annually through the region.At the center of this tumult are the Tuareg, the turbaned nomads who have inhabited this part of the Sahara for centuries. For much of the last

three years, Tuareg groups in Mali and Niger waged violent rebellions against their respective governments, seeking a greater voice in how their lands and resources are administered. Though a peace deal was brokered earlier this year, the conflict has left much of the region im-poverished and awash in weapons and unem-ployed former fighters. Observers in the region worry that many of these young men could fall under the sway of AQIM and the cartels.


Tuareg Nomads end the Rama-dan fast in the desert about 50 kilometers outside of Timbuktu with prayer and dancing on Sep-tember 21, 2009 in Timbuktu, Mali.


Tuareg men gather in a Tuareg Nomad camp on October 11, 2009 in Ingal, Niger. The men are here to discuss things with a local Tuareg political candidate. They will eat together, drink traditional tea and then sleep during the afternoon heat. Tuareg Nomads have two traditional priorities, their animals and access to water. This group has moved to this region at this time to enjoy the remaining good grassland of the rainy season and will soon move again to be close to a good water source. The nomads survive on a diet of millet and camel milk which is occasionally supplemented by goat meat.

Two young Tuareg women have their hair dressed by other Tuareg women inside a traditional nomad tent at a Tuareg Nomad camp on October 11, 2009 in Ingal, Niger. Tuareg Nomads have two traditional priorities, their animals and access to water. This group has moved to this region at this time to enjoy the remaining good grassland of the rainy season and will soon move again to be close to a good water source. The nomads survive on a diet of millet and camel milk which is occasionally sup-plemented by goat meat.


Tuareg men arrive on their camels at a meeting of clans in the desert on January 9, 2010 60 kilometers outside of Timbuktu, Mali. The camel is a vital symbol for the Tu-areg, it is a gauge of wealth and the key to his survival in the de-sert for centuries gone by.


Scenes at a Baptism in a Tuareg Nomad camp on October 11, 2009 in Ingal, Niger. Tuareg Bap-tism is very simple, three names are discussed by elders and then straws are drawn to choose the final name. The women perform a ritual of walking around the tent in a line with the leading woman brandishing two knives to sym-bolically cut away misfortune from the future of the child. The women then dance and sing and play the drums while men pre-pare goat mead and drink tea and discuss things while people visit from the surrounding nomad camps. Tuareg Nomads have two traditional priorities, their animals and access to water. This group has moved to this region at this time to enjoy the remaining good grassland of the rainy season and will soon move again to be close to a good water source. The nomads survive on a diet of millet and camel milk which is oc-casionally supplemented by goat meat.


TOP LEFT: Early morning scenes at a water well used by a number of nearby Tuareg Nomad camps on October 4, 2009 in Ingal, Niger. Tuareg Nomads have two tradi-tional priorities, their animals and access to water.

TOP RIGHT: Impoverished Tu-aregs lift water from a very deep well using donkey teams on Sep-tember 26, 2009 in Tabalak, Niger.

BOTTOM LEFT: Early morning scenes at a Tuareg Nomad camp on October 8, 2009 in Ingal, Niger. Tuareg Nomads have two tradit

TOP RIGHT: Tuareg master sword maker Abda Ahmoudou, 35, works on Tuareg swords in his workshop on September 30, 2009 in Agadez city, Niger. Tuareg swords are seen as an important symbol for a Tuareg man but functions primarily as decoration and less as a defensive weapon nowadays. The best swords says Ahmoudou are made from the driveshafts of 1960's LandRover driveshafts which apparently produce the best weight and the straightest piece of metal with which to fashion the sword. The swords can fetch prices often in excess of 150 000 CFA, around $350. "A man without a sword is missing something. Every Tu-areg man must have a sword. It would take me a month to explain the reasons behind the Tuareg sword, every sword has a name based on the quality of the blade and the swordmaker."


People of M.N.J, The Movement of Justice in Niger, a Tuareg led rebellion against the Niger gov-ernment for reasons of perceived discrimination, social injustice and resource ownership in Ni-ger's growing Uranium and natu-ral resources, on April 5, 2009 in Tazerzeit, Niger. The rebels are depicted in the desert on a train-ing excercise close to a former school establised for Tuareg No-mad children. It sits on the North-eastern front of the Air mountain range near the rebel main base at Mt Tamgak. The school was attacked by the Niger Army in their search for rebels in August 2007, the teacher was threat-ened in front of the childten and three elderly men were reportedly executed by a Niger Army cap-tain. Shortly afterwards the rebel counter attack secured 31 Niger Army hostages, one of whom still remains in Rebel hands.


MNJ breakaway faction leader and Tuareg Rissa ag Boula, a former Niger Army commander and Minister of Tourism on April 7, 2009 in Zagado, Nothern Niger. Boula is now on the run himself from the French as well as Niger forces. He has gone back to his own people and joined the Tu-areg rebellion although it is under some scepticism from other MNJ leaders. He has a reputation as a fierce fighter and is seen with his sniper rifle.


Tuareg soldiers of the M.N.J - "The Movement for Justice in Niger," fill their canteen with water as they remain on the move wary of the Niger Army helicopter gunships on April 5, 2009 in Tazerzeit, Air Mountains, Niger. These soldiers are part of a Tuareg-led rebellion against the Niger government for reasons of perceived discrimination and social injustice against the Tuareg in Niger. The rebels have spent the night in the valley hiding under trees from Niger Army helicopters and are filling up before driving their technical vehicles to the next safe water point. An amnesty was signed in late 2010 with the rebel leaders and the Niger Government with little being gained by the Rebels despite their three year prolonged campaign for Tuareg rights in mining lands.

Tuareg soldiers of the M.N.J - "The Movement for Justice in Niger," move on after consulting with a Tuareg nomad as to the whereabouts of their enemy, the Niger Army on April 5, 2009 in Tazerzeit, Air Mountains, Niger.


Tin-Telout Tuareg village scenes on September 10, 2009 in Tim-buktu. This village is made up of sedentary Tuareg people who fled the Tuareg Rebellion and subsequent Mali Tuareg purges. They lived as refugees in Maurita-nia in poor conditions, having left all their possesions and livestock behind when they fled Mali. They only returned to Mali after the peace accord was signed and their leader had personally been back to see for himself if it was safe. They now live sedentary lives alongside Songhay people in Tin-Telout raising goats and cattle, they have adoped this sedentary practise as a joint re-sult of long periods of drought and instability.


Ashmoudou Assalek teaches in a nomad school in the impover-ished Tuareg village of Assaouas on October 9, 2009 in Ingal, Ni-ger. Assalek teaches 4 different grades at the school as opposed to the norm of one, he also teach-es 2 classes at once, one on each side of the classroom. He is a for-mer pupil at the school, founded in 1974 by the Niger government but woefully undersupplied. "When I came back here I had only 5 students, now I have 50. Its very important to me to be involved in educating my people but its difficult, because I am a teacher the nomads see me as in better position than them but actually my salary is very small. The nomads bring me their chil-dren but they do not bring money for food or clothing or even blan-kets, I must provide all this so it is very difficult for me and my fam-ily to provide for all the children. I work 24 hours with the classes in the day and the marking at night. I teach French, Maths, General studies which include History, Geography, Science and physi-cal education. One of the big-gest problems we have is that we must teach in French and the children speak Tamashek, the language of the Tuareg. It would be much quicker for the children and myself if we could use our own language but there are no books. This will change, I believe, but it will take time, I think it suits the Niger government to have this situation. We need basic things, pencils, papers, books, some help with funding for the food for the children. The irony here is that the nomads bring you their kids reluctantly, they still see you as a bad example, they don't understand the value of educa-tion because they are clinging to a traditional lifestyle."


Tuareg soldiers of the M.N.J - "The Movement for Justice in Niger," move further into the de-sert of Northern Niger, wary of the Niger Army helicopter gunships on April 5, 2009 in Tazerzeit, Air Mountains, Niger. These soldiers are part of a Tuareg-led rebellion against the Niger government for reasons of perceived discrimina-tion and social injustice against the Tuareg in Niger. The rebels have spent the night in the val-ley hiding under trees from Niger Army helicopters before driving their technical vehicles to the next safe water point. An amnes-ty was signed in late 2010 with the rebel leaders and the Niger Gov-ernment with little being gained by the Rebels despite their three year prolonged campaign for Tu-areg rights in mining lands.

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The Tuareg Nation - Reportage by Getty Images35, works on Tuareg swords in his workshop on September 30, 2009 in Agadez city, Niger. Tuareg swords are seen as an important symbol for