AL QAEDA ‘CUCKOOS’ AND THE TUAREGS OF MALI (UPDATED 21ST JUNE 2013)

There are numerous analyses of the current problems in Mali. I have argued elsewhere that one of the unforeseen consequences of the civil war in Libya was to catalyse the Tuareg rebellion in Northern Mali and that al Qaeda franchises muscled in on the act to assume control. My piece in this blog called ‘The Libyan Civil War – Some Consequences for Children’ was, in fact, a draft paper for the ‘War Child Journal’ and was written with a narrow focus – that of bringing the plight of children in the Sahel to a wider readership.
Amongst that interesting blogs on the subject of Mali is ‘Crossed Crocodiles’ and I suggest that the following might be interesting reading:
http://crossedcrocodiles.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/the-tuareg-mali-terrorists-oil-and-uranium/
Whatever we might think about the underlying cause, some are predicting a ‘Somalia’ in the Sahel.
I am aware that there are numerous differences between Mali and Somalia. It is facile to compare the two but I would respectfully draw attention to the UNHCR data on Somalia and Mali.
There are an estimated 1,022,856 refugees from the long running problems, largely caused by the Al Qaeda franchise Al Shabaab, in Somalia. So far the UNHCR estimate that there are 211,645 refugees who have fled the crisis in Mali which is but a few months old. The possibility of it spreading to Algeria, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and more is a nightmare we must all share.
For data on refugees from Somalia read:
http://data.unhcr.org/horn-of-africa/regional.php
….and from northern Mali:
http://data.unhcr.org/MaliSituation/regional.php

Update 9th January 2013
This is worth following up
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2013/01/07/feature-02

Update 11th January 2013
France enters the fray;
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-mali-rebels-idUSBRE90912Q20130111

Update 13th January 2013
A useful guide to Mali’s armed groups:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/01/20131139522812326.html

Update 14th January 2013

Some good words on why France intervened:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/01/201311413431010619.html

Update 17th January 2013

Some background to the attack on the BP gas facility in Algeria carried out by an al Qaeda franchise – apparently because of the French intervention in Mali.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/algeria/9807107/Algeria-attack-Mokhtar-Belmokhtar-the-one-eyed-gangster-behind-the-raid.html

Update 18th December 2013

Some interesting comments about the BP gas facility. Did the terrorists enter Algeria from Libya?
http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/01/17/libyan-connection-to-in-amenas-raid-still-unclear/

Update 23rd January 2013
A balanced piece on the nature of the al Qaeda in Mali, the French intervention and the UK Prime Minister’s assertions about the threat as a whole.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9818699/To-Malians-al-Qaeda-is-a-foreign-invader.html

……and the confusion about where the terrorists came from continues:
http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/01/22/terrorist-source-claims-libyan-connection-with-in-amenas-attack/

Update 27th January 2013

This is a very well researched piece about crime and al Qaeda in Mali and its neighbours\:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9829099/Revealed-how-Saharan-caravans-of-cocaine-help-to-fund-al-Qaeda-in-terrorists-North-African-domain.html

Update 1st February 2013
This report from Mali should be read widely.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9843619/Dispatch-Inside-Timbuktu-the-city-freed-from-its-al-Qaeda-tormentors.html

Update 11th February 2013

Reports of an al Qaeda training camp in Mali
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9860822/Timbuktu-al-Qaedas-terrorist-training-academy-in-the-Mali-desert.html

Update 14th February 2013
The al Qaeda ‘cuckoo’ caught in the process of laying its egg in the Tuareg nest. The plan to take over in Mali revealed:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/9868922/Mali-Telegraph-finds-al-Qaeda-plan-in-Timbuktu.html