I'm going to take a quick break from blogging about all my crazy new experiences in Afghanistan (I feel like such a noob!) and discuss the wonderfulness that is Mali right now. The last time I discussed Mali was back in June. At that time it appeared that a split had occured between the Tuareg seperatists who called themselves the Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and their Al Qaida In the Islamic Maghreb affiliated Ansar Dine allies.
For those who have forgotten and want to read up on the whole Mali situation, here's a timeline. If you don't want to click the link...
- Qaddafi's regime falls in Libya.
- A whole bunch of Tuareg tribal mercenaries hired by Qaddafi come back home to Mali.
- Soldiers in the Malinese capital of Bamako stage a coup as a protest over the ineffective government handling of the ongoing rebellion in the northern part of the country.
- Tuaregs and Ansar Dine fighters pretty much take over all of Northern Mali...whoops.
- Tuaregs and Ansar Dine form an alliance. Tuaregs (largely secular) quickly rethink that alliance after they realize Ansar Dine is one of those annoyingly religious fundamentalist groups who like to stone people to death, deface cultural sites, and ban alcohol among other things.
-Tuaregs and Ansar Dine start fighting.
So where are we at now?
Well, Ansar Dine have called in their AQIM buddies and the AQIM have sent reinforcements to help fight the Tuaregs. The Tuaregs are now basically getting their asses kicked. Just to add some confusion to all of this, there is a fourth organization: Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) involved. MUJAO is an offshoot of AQIM who didn't like the fact that AQIM was led by a bunch of Algerians. MUJAO broke off from AQIM and started assisting Ansar Dine.
And what about those 3,300 soldiers that African leaders have stated will head to Mali to help retake the country? They probably won't be ready until March...
In the meantime, northern Mali could become the next Afghanistan.
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