Tuareg Rebels with the Azawad Flag
Tuareg rebel at the start of the conflict between Mali and the MNLA
The Ansar Dine have now entered the conflict as a belligerent against the MNLA, the Malian Army (which has confirmed US training and non-intervention support), and with the support of the various allied rebel movements under Ansar Dine. After capturing Timbukutu after the recent defeat of the MNLA, the Ansar Dine has begun to destroy ancient religious sites, including mosques and graves in the historic city.
Ansar Dine insurgent
A series of events unfolded after the original Tuareg-MNLA rebellion of January-February 2012 which was aided by an influx of weapons from Libya following the Libyan Civil War and the UN intervention in 2011. Besides the Tuareg Rebellion and the recent Islamist insurgency, the March 2012 coup which ousted Mali's democratically elected president was another significant event in the growing conflict in Mali.
US Special Forces advisor checking a Malian army platoon sometime before the conflict.
Note their outdated Cold War Era weapons
The coup was led by a number a relatively low ranking officers, with Captain Amadou Sanogo gaining de facto power as the head of the military junta and the psuedo political party upset with the way the Tuareg Rebellion was going, and alarmed at the growing insurgency campaign in the North of Mali, which brought about the creation of Azawad and intervention of Islamist extremists.
As stated previosuly the recent results in Northern Mali have put Azawad at risk of being defeated. Meanwhile the Military Junta of Mali and its Army are struggling to defeat both the MNLA and the Ansar Dine and reunite the country yet again.
Though internationally condemned, including by the US state department and President Obama, the Malian army is still supplied and has received training from the US military. Besides this there seems to be little press coverage here in the US and elsewhere on the conflict in Mali. This changed somewhat recently with the reports of the sacking of Timbuktu though the war remains under-reported in general throughout worldwide media coverage.
Update: As of January 2013, the French military has intervened in Mali, alongside American Special Forces officers they will help train, reinforce, and operate in the North of Mali where the insurgency and occupation of the country have been controlled by the Ansar Dine.
Military junta leader Captain Sanogo. Note his United States Marine Corps Eagle, Globe, & Anchor pin from when he lived in America and trained at Quantico and Fort Benning with the Marine Corps and US army respectively.
Though he symbolically stepped down as President, he had the interim president arrested on Dec 10-11 2012. Few internationally dispute that he and junta have control over southern Mali.
Though he symbolically stepped down as President, he had the interim president arrested on Dec 10-11 2012. Few internationally dispute that he and junta have control over southern Mali.
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