Am I correct in my assumption that the small size of the Malian and Burkinabé militaries has a lot to do with their respective presidents’ anxieties regarding coup attempts? I assume this stays on Blaise’s mind given how he came about his current position.
If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. – Mark Twain (attributed)
Hey Matt,Originally Posted by ganulv
Not all too sure about Burkina Faso other than the typically well fed and paid presidential regiment (RSP), but the Malian military is quite small - numbering less than 7,000 (on paper that is) and reportedly Mali can't afford what they have. Looking at those Russian dinosaurs they have for vehicles and aircraft, it's a wonder they can even put up a defensive force.
If you want to blend in, take the bus
The publicly available stuff says about 6,000 in Burkina. That number seems to include the Gendarmerie and the Garde Champêtre. Theres also a five figure conscripted militia force which I cannot imagine amounts to much given that the gates at the camp militaire in Bobo looked like they hadnt been painted in years (Im not saying the country is so poor that their military cant even afford paint; rather I suspect the paint money in the budget gets put into someones pocket before paint can be bought with it).
Veering off topic as I sometimes do I took the photo below as a storm which caught ma petite amie and I was blowing up as we walked back to our auberge. We waited for about twenty minutes in a store and since there was no sign that the rain was going to let up and we were already wet we decided to continue on foot. In the mile or so we walked through the rain the only other movement of any kind we saw on the roads was when we met a couple of soldiers walking in the opposite direction and everyone who saw us walk past had the oddest looks on their faces which I thought was probably their way of expressing that they thought we were morons. Then later I thought about passing the two soldiers and I had to wonder if maybe your average Burkinabè is afraid of being rained on for some reason (that it will make them sick or that they will melt or something) and the soldiers had been made to be out in the weather enough to know better.
Burkinabès freaking the f**ck out as a storm blows up.
Last edited by ganulv; 03-27-2012 at 06:29 PM. Reason: typo fix
If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. – Mark Twain (attributed)
How long will crisis last?
A coup in Mali is clearly quite different to other African coups:Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17562066 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17543387President Amadou Toumani Toure said on Wednesday that he remained in the country, free and in good health
As the Tuaregs advance diplomats in ECOWAS are stirring themselves, threatening economic sanctions and in Mali itself the banks are busy as deposits are withdrawn.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 10-10-2013 at 06:10 PM. Reason: remove MOd's note
davidbfpo
I hear the Tuareg rebels have taken over Timbuktu and have declared their independent state. What are the implications?
The 'fall' of Timbucktu: the implications?
KingJaJa,
Yes the 'fall' of Timbucktu has been reported by the BBC: Newshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17576725
You added:Typing aloud then I would suggest these:What are the implications?
a) the impact within Mali on the new regime - nearly 500 miles away - and how much Mali and the people think the city is worth
b) will the reported dtente between the rebels and local Arabs hold?
c) the impact on the calculus of ECOWAS on imposing sanctions and possibly intervention. Will petrol supplies be cut-off notably; no fuel, no combat.
d) the impact of such a 'fall' of a city once having a mythological status well beyond the region, notably with Algeria, France and the USA - in that order
e) can the 'rebels' actually administer the Tuareg region, including towns and without some of the extremism associated with AQIM?
f) an ECOWAS intervention leads to an effective partition, I doubt the coalition - even with external support - will seek combat in the north.
All from my faraway "armchair". Helped by this BBC analysis Is Mali's coup doomed?:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17573294
davidbfpo
David,
1. Will ECOWAS be forced to side with the junta, because applying sanctions on the junta merely emboldens the rebels? (The rebels want nothing more than a weakened Malian military)
2. What impact will this have on other separatist movements in Africa. Africa is full of artificial states and as I said earlier, the political maps will have to be redrawn this century. We had South Sudan and now this. About the viability of the proposed state - I don't think the Tauregs are less economically viable than either Nigeria or Mauritania.
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