Smuggling feeds both sides
Behind the catchy, if ambiguous headline 'Revealed: how Saharan caravans of cocaine help to fund al-Qaeda in terrorists' North African domain' is an article that draws together the allegations over drugs, Jihadists and others:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...an-domain.html
Leaving the Malian aspects for a moment, what is being done about this small, coastal state:
Quote:
In Guinea Bissau, for example, the cartels' limitless funds have bought up so many police, politicians and soldiers that it has been dubbed Africa's first "narco-state", with a military coup last April blamed on in-fighting over drug trade proceeds.
Citing the UNODC regional rep:
Quote:
Mr Lapaque cautions that hard proof of al-Qaeda's role in the cocaine trade is, by definition, difficult to come by.
After the bombing, comes the money?
Quote:
Corp Toure, whose unit was 10 miles from Diabaly at the time and was ordered to let the French do the fighting, said he later heard that among the Islamist guerrillas was one of his old comrades, who also had an older brother living in the village.
"The older brother asked him: 'Why did you join the militant people?'" recalled Corp Toure. "He replied: 'Because they pay well.' He said he was earning two million CFA (£2,600) a year, plus 500,000 CFA (£750) for every day spent fighting."
That might not sound much by Western standards, but Corp Toure said that even the basic pay level was double his own army income.
Yes an account based on one Malian soldier's account:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-pay-more.html
Makes me wonder whether money would work better in reducing the rebels.
Malian assembly: roadmap for transition
From RFI:
Quote:
Members of the Malian National Assembly adopted unanimously on Tuesday 29 January, the establishment of a political roadmap for the post-war period. The Government must exercise its sovereignty over the entire national territory before we talk about elections....(Citing the Assembly majority leader)...Reconciliation is needed but can not negotiate the independence of a territory or part of secularism.
Link:http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20130129-m...ute-transition
Given the state of internal politics in Mali, as illustrated by the endless negotiation over allowing ECOWAS troops to arrive and the precarious state of their own army -v- politicians - is this a good sign? Not am I sure if this means dialogue does not have a place, nor whether insurgency in the north will postpone a national election.
It's the locals who matter
A BBC piece 'Why Mali's Tuareg are lying low' which is a little bit "light", but has this worrying passage:
Quote:
Just a few minutes drive away hundreds of young men are running whooping and singing through the bush.
They are the Ganda Izo, the Children of the Land, a militia composed largely of black refugees from the north that is training now to go home - and help the Malian army root out those who collaborated with the rebels.
We are the ones who know who's who, they say - who looted, who stole, who ordered or administered Islamic punishments for smoking and drinking - and who raped.
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21296746
Divide & Conquer edges closer?
Quote:
A senior Ansar Dine Moussa Mohamed Ag Mohamed, and another from Mujao, Akhmed Oumeni Ould Baba, were arrested Saturday at the Algerian border by the MNLA. This is at least one part of the assertion Tuareg movement, which states that the arrest occurred after a clash between the MNLA and a convoy of rebels who tried to cross the Algerian border.
For the MNLA, claiming the arrest of two leaders of Ansar Dine and Mujao is a nice stunt. The Tuareg movement continues to affirm its commitment to assist the French forces in their hunt for terrorist groups hiding in northern Mali.
Link:http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20130204-m...sar-dine-mujao