Meydou was born in
Gao, Mali, and derives from the Lemhar Arab community from the
Tilemsi desert. He joined the
Joint Military School in Koulikoro in 1996. Between 1997 and 1998, he served as the commander of the 3rd military region that included
Kati. Between 2008 and 2009, he served as the head of a militia consisting of Arabs and Tuaregs that fought against
Ibrahim Ag Bahanga. When the Tuareg rebellion broke out in 2012, Meydou was a colonel-major. He asked for the release of drug trafficker Mohamed Ould Awainat to help recruit fighters from Arab communities. He also attempted to help Malian forces
at Tessalit, but failed. From 2013 to 2017, Meydou served as a commissioner at the Malian
Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He escaped an assassination attempt from
al-Mourabitoun in Bamako on January 26, 2015, but survived albeit injured. On June 7, 2017, Meydou was appointed to governor of the
Taoudénit Region with a residence in
Timbuktu. He was appointed major-general on September 20, 2018. Protests erupted against Meydou's rule of Taoudenit in 2021, but were met with counter-protests in favor of his rule. Malian civil society groups denounced Meydou in the wake of the protests, stating that he gave jobs to family members and did not represent the civilian population. During the offensive by the
Coordination of Azawad Movements against the Malian government in September 2023, Meydou called for dialogue as the only way forward between Mali and the CMA. == References ==