418 Chapter 4
432 Mali/439 Burkina Faso
MID#1411
Dispute Number: 1411
Date(s): November 25, 1974 to June 18, 1975
Participants: 432 Mali/439 Burkina Faso
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 1–25 deaths
Narrative: Clashes between Mali and Upper Volta occurred over a disputed border
region. Though part of Upper Volta, Mali claimed it because of the groups with
Malian ties in the area. The region was also rich in minerals. The two sides eventually
signed an agreement renouncing the use of violence to settle the issue.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from November 1974. End Date changed from
June 3, 1975. Outcome changed from Unclear. Settlement changed from None.
MID#2583
Dispute Number: 2583
Date(s): December 25, 1985 to January 17, 1986
Participants: 432 Mali/439 Burkina Faso
Outcome (and Settlement): Compromise (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 26–100 deaths
Narrative: Mali and Burkina Faso contested a 90-mile by 12-mile strip of land along
their border known as Agacher since their independence in 1960. Agacher was report-
edly rich in minerals and natural gas, and it had the region’s only fresh water sup-
plies. Burkina Faso and Mali had made significant progress in settling the issue when
they agreed to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1983
and established demarcation commissions. They successfully demarcated over 1,000
kilometers of the border, leaving only 300 kilometers unmarked, by September 1985.
The dispute became militarized on December 12, 1985, when Burkina Faso officials
conducted a census in the disputed area under police escort. On December 25, Mali
attacked inside the disputed zone, and military units from both countries clashed for
five days. Several outsiders attempted mediation. Nigeria negotiated a ceasefire on
December 30, which did not last, while ANAD, a regional nonaggression and defense
pact, negotiated another one the following day.
The ANAD agreement brought an end to the fighting, but it did not call for troop
withdrawals. On January 10, 1986, the ICJ became involved. The court asked the
combating countries to avoid escalation until it made a ruling at the end of the month.
On January 17, before the ICJ announced its decision, Mali leader General Moussa
Traore and Burkina Faso leader Captain Thomas Sankara met in Yamoussoukro,
Ivory Coast, and agreed to withdraw their troops from the disputed territory.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from December 12, 1985.