Mali, the smelly French and the Strange bedfellows: MNLA’s on-again, off-again marriage with Ansar Dine

In his blog, “Bridges Over Bamako”, Bruce Whitehouse, an anthropologist at the US-based Lehigh University, noted that, “It’s certainly true that the Tuareg have a sympathetic following among the French and that rebel spokesmen have frequently appeared in the French media.”

Read more

A new country is born: “Azawad” or the Result of many mistakes?

… before he was ousted from power, the last president was sending the young soldiers, totally empty handed and with no weapon, to the front, to fight against the secessionist Tuaregs. While the co-opted soldiers, at the top rank in the Malian military force were drinking their teas all day long, many soldiers from poor families with no connection or relation in the administrations were getting killed.

Read more