Beginning in January, French and Malian forces took just over a month to rid Mali’s north of Islamic militants. The Tuareg-dominated MNLA however claims a remote, remaining area. With elections scheduled the end of July, most Malians are refusing to compromise Kidal, a city in the far north-east, is the hub of Kidal province, bordering […]
Forces representing France and the government of Mali seem to have mostly regained control of the West African nation’s northern region following last month’s offensive, as I covered here. But the fallout from their pushback against rebellious elements continues. I found two developments from a recent BBC update of particular interest. One concerns the status of […]
Should the U.S. government ever come under threat, would the U.K.–its colonial overlords from way back when–send over troops to stabilize the situation and keep the country and democracy intact (as presently designed)? Sounds pretty far-fetched, but that is exactly what France is aiming to do now in the West African nation of Mali. In […]
With the election of President Barack Obama to a second term as President of the United States, the operational realities of an exit strategy for U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan by 2014 began to be put into place. Obama campaigned strongly on the notion of turning the security of Afghanistan over to the national forces […]
The Office of The Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court issued a statement today announcing that it is following developments in Mali after reports of possible crimes against humanity: Mali ratified the Rome Statute on 16 August 2000. Therefore, in accordance with Rome Statute provisions, the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over possible war […]
It’s been quite a week in West Africa. As mentioned earlier this month, Mali is facing its share of troubles since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in neighboring Libya. Observers knew that the return of Tuareg fighters from Libya would likely increase tensions in northern Mali and perhaps lead to a new Tuareg rebellion. However […]
Just as the food crisis and famine in the Horn of Africa becomes manageable for aid groups, another crisis begins on the other side of the continent in the Sahel region of West Africa. On the edges of the Sahara Desert, drought is not uncommon, but is becoming more frequent with major food emergencies in […]