Mali has been in the news for well over a year - and not always for the good reasons. The declaration of the "Republic of Azawad" in Northern Mali by Touareg nationalists after an armed uprising that practically divided the country into two, and the alliance between the armed rebel group(s) and Al Quaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) has inflicted untold suffering on the non-Touareg (i.e. black) population. The introduction of full Sh'aria law (including stoning to death of at least two unmarried couples and amputation of the arms and legs of petty thieves), the gathering of jihadists drawn to the vast untamed band of the sahara desert running from Mauritania to Somalia, the emergence of sheikhdoms, the explosive combination of religious fanatics, drug and people traffickers, etc., poses a major challenge not only to all countries bordering the Sahara, but also to Europe and even to the United States. This is another "Afghanistan" in the making and will be far more difficult to subdue.
France is Mali's former colonial master. The jihadists were moving southwards at lightening speed and the rag-tag Malian army was in no position to halt them. Had France not intervened, they would have overrun the capital (Bamako) by now. The outcome would have been horrendous.
For once, African nations have welcomed "foreign" intervention and are falling over one another to praise France for its assistance.
This war is far from fought in my view. The islamists have simply gone underground. At the end of the "war", counter-insurgency must take over and remain on the ground for years to come. This is more than a Malian or French problem. The army of obscurantists (jihadists) are out to destroy everything and everybody who practices any other religion except their strict interpretation of Islam. Atheists, agnostics, philosophers, etc. are not spared either.
During their short reign of terror in Northern Mali, the islamists banned music of all sorts, women were forced to wear the full head-to-toe garb, cigarette and alcohol were no-go areas, etc. Before fleeing Timbuktu five days ago, the jihadists set fire to tons of manuscripts dating as far back as the eleventh century (Timbuktu was for centuries a highly respected centre of learning, and is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site).
We are all concerned.
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