Mali mainly, 2012 coup, drugs & more

[davidbfpo]

A simple menu and contains updates on those sitting at the table in Mali:http://bridgesfrombamako.com/2013/03...a-broken-mali/

Nice last sentence:

Peace in Mali rests as much on events in Bamako and Kati as in the Adrar des Ifoghas, in Gao, or in Kidal.

I am bemused to read elsewhere (NYT) on the suggestion that the UN assume a peacekeeping role in Mali. First the Malian military have made little contribution to the fighting in the north; the ECOWAS military and police appear to remain in Bamako - ostensibly to provide security, so the Malian military can deploy.

Will anyone want to take on a role that is far from 'peacekeeping'? I am struggling to recall a previous UN role in COIN.

[Stan]

David,

The first three are an utter waste of time

Free elections, national dialog and management of foreign aid ?

I'll pass on the first two, but managing foreign aid should not be any African Dictator's right.

Number 4. They tell us that this is the reason we are there but they don't participate and our training teams are heading North without them to respond.

Number 5. Ever hold talks with your enemy who would rather see you dead ?

Number 6. The so-called donors have always insisted on reconciliation as part of the deal. Jeez, when will they learn

I’m also aware that these six steps, while necessary for Mali’s future stability, may not be sufficient to produce it.

This part I agree with !

[davidbfpo]

A good review of the situation by Gregory Mann:http://africasacountry.com/2013/03/22/welcome-to-mali/

It ends with:

First, the French might be only ones who want France to leave Mali any time soon. Almost every other actor would seem to have a vested interest in having them stick around for a while. That fact in and of itself might provoke future violence. The second, more important, point, is this: France can make war in Mali; it has done so in more ways than one, and (counting Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidency) more than once. But France can not make the peace. That will be up to the better angels of people in Kuluba, Kati, Kidal, and beyond. While waiting for those angels to appear, it is looking ever more likely that France will claim to win its war while Mali fails to win its own.

One wonders is France has a realistic exit plan, before acting and even more so now. Note France has had its fifth fatality in the north.

[davidbfpo]

A good film clip by a BBC reporter, who appears to be embedded with the Foreign Legion in the Tegharghar mountains of northern Mali; it can be viewed in the USA (thanks JMM):http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21921541

The accompanying, longer written report:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21919769

[Stan]

Nice clip, David !

Sadly, as the UN tags along behind the French some 600 clicks from Bamako, there are signs that the rebel's logistics were far better than expected and the Mali soldiers have little to nothing to include motivation.

If the French leave tomorrow there will be hell to pay !

[M-A Lagrange]

French soldiers in Mali: "These jihadists are there to die"

Tell them fighting and their eyes trun vague. For twelve days of fierce battle, the 2nd REP legionnaires (Foreign Parachute Regiment) mounted at the front in the rough mountains of the Adrar des Iforas in northern Mali to flush out Islamist AQIM ( Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb). "We found ourselves facing an army trained and very clever," says Captain Clement.
In the lunar landscape of the valley Ametteta under a blazing sun, the soldiers conducted harsh combat. Sometimes within 3 m of their enemies, almost hand-to-hand combat. "We had not seen that from Algeria, said Gen. Bernard Barrera, the tactical commander of the operation Serval. In front of us the enemies agreed contact and rode into battle. "" In Afghanistan, it was very different compared Captain Clement. The Taliban often drop their weapons to blend in with the population and reappear under the disguise of a shepherd. Here, we fought against real warriors, able to develop a strategy and ambushes. They do not defiled, quite the contrary. " "They had food on them and also how to commit suicide"

http://www.leparisien.fr/internation...13-2678081.php

Becareful: google translate can be... weird at the best
Also there is a video but for French speakers only

[davidbfpo]

An interesting, if slightly off centre report by a journalist with Malian and French forces in Gao and suggests the "liberators" are not gretted by all the locals. Some grim photos too; there is a linked video but it failed to show here. He ends with:

A dozen jihadists, some of them children, had held off hundreds of Malian soldiers for a full day of fighting, until the French were forced to intervene. The city center was a smoldering ruin. For all the politicians’ talk in Paris of a swift end to their campaign in Mali, it seemed unlikely to me that the French would be going home any time soon.

Link:http://www.vice.com/en_au/read/al-qa...Contentpage=-1

Notable are the references to IEDs and stockpiles of weapons in the city.

[TV-PressPass]

The Vice piece really highlights the lack of training in some of the Malian units right now. I was visibly wincing through the building clearing sequences.

I found the second half a little disappointing. Between the camera "running out of memory" for the French engagement, and the long shots of dismembered corpses, I didn't feel like it had the strong content of the first half.

[ganulv]

The Vice piece really highlights the lack of training in some of the Malian units right now. I was visibly wincing through the building clearing sequences.

I found the second half a little disappointing. Between the camera "running out of memory" for the French engagement, and the long shots of dismembered corpses, I didn't feel like it had the strong content of the first half.

Vice is a strange mix of journalism that needs to be done which no one seems to do anymore and MTV’s Jackass. There was a good piece in the New Yorker about them recently. If nothing else, they (at least for now) seem to have figured out how to monetize media in the digital age. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...act_widdicombe

[davidbfpo]

A one-stop backgrounder by a team of academics, for Mali before the French intervention; with an odd title until you learn:

The Malian national mascot is the hippopotamus...

Link:http://bamakobruce.files.wordpress.c...ditors-cut.pdf

[davidbfpo]

Chad, one of the largest supplier of troops battling Islamists in Mali, has started to pull them out, President Idriss Deby has said. "The Chadian army does not have the skills to fight a shadowy, guerrilla-style war that is taking place in northern Mali..About 30 have been killed - more than any other nationality..

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22150625

[davidbfpo]

An odd inventory, with fifty year old rockets and newer items:http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/filea...thern-Mali.pdf

[davidbfpo]

A short French article, well worth reading and ends with:

On balance, the idea that the rebels clashed with Malian units with sophisticated weapons is indeed a myth. The differences lie elsewhere: in the maintenance of equipment in the amount of ammunition available, and most importantly, the ability to know how to use. Training is crucial, as the tactics implemented - considered essential in an environment like the desert where the movement bonus. Finally add the initiative and dynamism of leaders and also the morale of the fighters. No, arming the rebels was no more sophisticated than the Malian army: it has simply been used more wisely.

Link:http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/...t-du-mnla.html

Thinking aloud now. The crisis in Mali with the rebellion(s) in the north would have looked very different beyond Mali if all the speculation and gossip on the legacy of Gadafy's fall had not been treated as reliable reporting. Trust and verify!

[Fuchs]

It won't help.

To most civilians the only known difference in military quality is the difference in how high-tech the toys are.

[davidbfpo]

A short BBC report on the new UN peacekeeping mission to Mali, to be known as Minusma and a short clip on training the Malian army:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22296705

A comment by the usually very good Thomas Fessey:

The UN is deploying a force in a country where there is still no peace to keep.

The blue helmets are tasked with securing the main cities and roads but they will not be in Mali to engage jihadist fighters. This is left to a 1,000-strong French force, which will continue to "chase terrorists" whenever needed.

France got what it wanted out of this resolution: African forces already on the ground are to be integrated into the UN force while the French will be able to operate freely according to threats.

[Stan]

A short French article, well worth reading and ends with:

Link:http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/...t-du-mnla.html

Thinking aloud now. The crisis in Mali with the rebellion(s) in the north would have looked very different beyond Mali if all the speculation and gossip on the legacy of Gadafy's fall had not been treated as reliable reporting. Trust and verify!

David,
According to our team, the weapons are indeed from Libya, but there is little evidence to support training. Most were just dumped in the desert and the rest were never taken off of safety to initiate. We were initially warned of mass amounts of UXO and IED. What in fact was found and destroyed were abandoned munitions and weapons.

Whatever training they received, it wasn't sufficient

[davidbfpo]

Logistics lead to compromises, this French report on Algerian support for the French military action, when Algeria opposed intervention in public and allowed overflights:http://www.lepoint.fr/editos-du-poin...1660562_53.php

Tankers of fuel service of integrated logistics brigade armies went five times to the Algerian border, the trail starting from Tessalit to go take delivery of hundreds of cubic meters of fuel delivered by Algeria...Specifically, French empty tanks were made on a point of the Algerian-Malian border kept secret, where they were met Algerian gendarmes accompanying Algerian civilians tankers. Without this valuable contribution Algeria, the French had not previously made public operations in Ifoghas would probably not have been conducted in the same way. Or as fast.

[davidbfpo]

A resource source, dated January 2013:http://africa.berkeley.edu/Outreach/Mali.php

[davidbfpo]

Algeria has always had a different stance on Mali, so this statement comes as a slight surprise:

The international community must give its full support to the United Nations to stabilize Mali, a senior Algerian official said on Monday, at the start of a regional security conference in the city of Oran.

Link:http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/8...i-says-algeria

[ganulv]

If I understand the Al Jazeera and BBC pieces correctly, the United Nations is in charge of peacekeeping in Mali as of today. But I am assuming that the four figures of French troops remaining there are not under UN command. Anyone able to clarify the arrangement?