Four hundred French troops have been deployed to Mali with the objective of halting the advance of rebels, believed to be allied with Al-Qaeda, in the northern region of the country who have already succeeded in taking control of a large swath of territory. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said that the French military is conducting airstrikes in the region and promised that he does not intend for France to have prolonged military involvement in the conflict. French defense officials have stated that the rebels are better armed than they had initially anticipated and so far a French helicopter pilot has been killed in the fighting. At the same time, the French defense ministry has issued a statement saying that the French military has destroyed “numerous targets in northern Mali near Gao, in particular training camps, infrastructure and logistical depots which served as bases for terrorist groups.”
Oumar Ould Hamaha, a rebel commander, had very strong words in response to France’s involvement in the conflict. “Our jihadists are not a bunch of sheep waiting to be slaughtered inside a closed pen. Listen closely to me. Our elements are constantly on the move. What they hit is a bunch of cement. France is going to reap the worst consequences possible from this. Now no French person can feel safe anywhere in the world. Every French national is a target.”
Other nations have indicated they are willing to have limited involvement in the conflict and give their support to the French military. Great Britain has dispatched to military cargo planes to the area.
“The situation in Mali is a serious concern for the UK. It would not be in our interests to allow a terrorist haven to develop in northern Mali,” said Member of Parliament Mark Simmonds. “As a responsible member of the Security Council, we must support the region in limiting the danger of instability in that part of Africa, threatening UK interests.”
The British government as a whole, however, is so far not convinced that any military intervention on the part of the UK would not turn into a long and drawn-out entrenchment of the British military in another country’s conflict. “This could become an incredibly long, drawn-out and difficult morass,” said Peter Hain, a former British minister for Africa. “We have got to be very careful to promote a political solution to it.”
The United States is also contributing a cautiously small level of aid to France in the form of helping gather intelligence in the region. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta conceded that the Al-Qaeda forces and affiliated groups in the region were not an immediate threat to the U.S, but added “we have to take steps now so that AQIM does not get that kind of traction. Panetta said United States has “a responsibility to go after al-Qaeda wherever they are. We have a responsibility to make sure that al-Qaeda does not establish a base of operations [in Mali].”
“The effort is to try to do what is necessary to halt their advances and to try to secure some of the key cities in Mali,” said Panetta.
The Tuaregs, a Berber and traditionally nomadic pastoralist people, of northern Mali have long been in conflict with the Mali government, claiming for decades that they are marginalized by the central government and therefore left to live in poverty. In January of 2012, the Tuaregs began a war for independence against the central Mali government. Tuaregs from Libya who had fought in the Libyan civil war against Gadhafi joined forces with them and supplied them with weapons and ammunition. For roughly three months the Tuareg forces fought against the Mali government and for control of the region they called “Azawad.” On March 6, the Tuareg force known as the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad declared northern Mali autonomous from the rest of the country, though this declaration was labeled invalid by both the African Union and the European Union.
Not long after this victory, in-fighting began between the Tuareg separatists and self-proclaimed jihadists wishing to impose Sharia law on the region who had embedded themselves in the rebellion. Ultimately, the Al-Qaeda sympathizers succeeded in seizing control of the region. Now Tuaregs who just months ago believed they had won themselves a homeland are fleeing that same land by the thousands. They fear for their lives and physical security, not just from Al-Qaeda but from diminishing access to food and other basic necessities. They are also afraid of being caught in the cross-fire between the Islamist rebels and the French military.
