The Arabist blog surveys the internal situation, starting with:
it might be helpful to look forward to what the French campaign is about (and what it’s not), as well as to look north to the implications for North Africa.
and concludes:
What does all of this mean for northern Mali – expect periodic bombing campaigns and sustained guerilla fighting/insurgency for the remainder of the year, with the strong likelihood of an ever-present jihadi threat for the foreseeable future. It’s not ideal, not least for the residents of northern Mali, but for the broader Maghreb it is acceptable.
Link:http://www.arabist.net/blog/2013/1/1...e-maghreb.html

A Stratfor analyst writes:
But unlike Afghanistan, with its mountainous terrain, Mali, and other areas of the arid Sahel, are easy to surveil and thus poorly suited to host terrorist training camps. With Western and African military forces converging on Mali, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb will struggle to survive.
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate...-in-the-desert

Not very convincing IMO. Mali is the same size as Afghanistan, yes it is arid mainly in the "rebel" north; the sheer scale of surveillance - especially if minus any meaningful ground coverage and 'training camps' are pre-9/11. There are ample alternatives, especially if the focus is not on attacking the 'far enemy'.