Barbara Worley/FB

‎Fighting in Tinzawatene, gunfire in Kidal.... The first two days of February will remain forever in the history of the Tuareg people. No one will forget these two days when Maliens in the south drove Tuaregs from their homes, shouting "Death to the Tuaregs!" ... The Tuareg Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad (MNLA) has disengaged from negotiations in Algiers, which they view as negotiations between the Malien government and a different movement, the Alliance for Democracy and Change (ADC).... The MNLA is about to start large-scale military actions. MNLA fighting focused on Tinzawatene last night [Friday February 3].... Many Tuareg groups are rallying around the MNLA now.... In Timbuktu, the situation has escalated, and Moorish militias have been making arrests.... In military camps in the south, there is tension between soldiers. The head of the military unit at Timbuktu (Col. Komou ag Kinini) has left the army and joined the MNLA with other fighters and seven vehicles.... Lieut. Alghafach ag Hamou was injured in the gunfire, and will leave Timbuktu with a number of Tuareg soldiers, aided by an MNLA patrol... The Malien army has re-occupied Menaka after fleeing only a few days ago, but the majority of Malien elders in the south refuse to participate in the fighting. Yesterday afternoon, Kidal was encircled by MNLA troops. At 10 PM, local people reported gunfire at the entrances to Kidal. The majority of Malien army soldiers at Kidal are Tuaregs, and they are supported by tribal Tuareg militias.