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Military Reform – 1996

Some very important developments took place in 1996 regarding the integration of armed combatants and the military code of conduct. On the integration side, 664 combatants from the MPA, 253 from the FPLA, 148 from the ARLA and 135 from the FIAA were integrated into the army, national guard and gendarmerie. These integrations took place at the ranks of enlisted men, noncommissioned officers, and officers. Altogether 24 combatants were appointed at the rank of officer.¹

With regards to the military code of conduct, the Malian defense minister organized a seminar on civil-military relations in July in the capital city Bamako. The aim for the seminar was, in light of the decades of military dictatorship, to impress the new democratic culture onto the armed forces. These seminars were said to enrich the military curricula during the crucial time of training newly integrated former Tuareg rebels.²

1. Kalifa Keita, “Conflict And Conflict Resolution in The Sahel.”
2. Robin-Edward Poulton Ibrahim ag Youssouf, A Peace in Timbuktu, 74.