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276 CHAPTER 6lose what they thought they had won in negotiations. However, many fighters inthe bases saw these ‘acts of banditry’ as a mere continuation of the fight. In theend, the difference between ‘regular’ rebel attacks on military goals as a sign ofdiscontent with the peace process, and ‘banditry’ by rebel deserters becametotally blurred. The musicians of the Teshumara had found a new theme fortheir songs: the divisions, discord and treason within the movement.I live in hard timesIn which kinship is untwinedIn which my maternal kin hates meWhen you have nothing left, they sell youWith the heavy burden you carry you support no oneNothing is done togetherThe world cries like young animals that leave the tent to drink 38Insecurity, refugees and the exclusion of civil societyThe outbreak of the Tamasheq rebellion immediately provoked strong reactionsfrom the Malian population towards the Tamasheq community, both in theNorth itself and elsewhere. As early as August 1990 the houses of the smallTamasheq community in Bamako were pillaged and their inhabitants attacked. 39Hostility towards the Kel Tamasheq in the capital died down at the beginning of1991, after the signing of the Tamanrasset Agreement and the start of thedemonstrations leading to the fall of Moussa Traoré in March that year. But inthe North, especially in cities like Mopti, Timbuktu and Gao, hostility towardsthe Tamasheq and Bidân populations would only grow over the years. Waves ofrefugees coincided with various phases in the conflict. The first wave consistedof Kel Adagh who fled to Algeria during the second half of 1990. They mainlysettled in the border towns of Bordj Mokhtar, Ti-n-Zaouatene and Timiaouenefrom where it was easy to move back into Mali if conditions were favourable.The Tamanrasset Agreement meant a temporary end to fighting in the Adagh.When the FPLA too agreed to adhere to the National Pact in 1993, the Algerianand Malian authorities judged it safe for the refugees to return. Algeria waseager to see its ‘guests’ leave as their presence was seen to be the cause ofrising insecurity in Southern Algeria itself. 40 A project was set up to repatriate12,000 refugees from Algeria between July and December 1993. In May 1993,383940Poem by Mohamed ‘Japonais’ ag Itlal, 1994. Klute, G. 2001, poem 37.‘De nouveaux affrontements auraient opposé des commandos de Touaregs et lesforces armées’, Le Monde, 21/08/1990.‘Tam: la passoire’, Algerie actualité, 21/10/92. The security issue was connected tothe rise of the FIS and GIA in the same period. Many former Tamasheq rebelscounter the accusations by stating that the presence of their armed forces, togetherwith the local authorities successfully blocked FIS and GIA presence in the South.