On Monday, April 1st, three Islamist militants were killed in a final raid after the battle that took place this past weekend in Timbuktu. The militants have had control over many important Malian cities for about 10 months now, but with the French and Malian forces, the natives managed to regain power. On Saturday, the rebels’ suicide bombing sparked an insidious battle on Easter Sunday.
When the extremists were in power, they imposed dangerously religious laws and banned music, lashing those they accused of adultery. Joe Temin of the U.S. Institute of Peace commented, “These are groups that are very good at existing in the desert under very harsh conditions. It’s hard to get rid of these kind of hit-and-run activities entirely.”
The al Qaeda-based militants have claimed that they’ve wanted to start a war with France in the Sahara. By battling French soldiers in Mali, many new Islamist fighters have joined the other extremists.
Mali has suffered much political unrest over the past year, making recent events even more difficult to bear. Malian soldiers have been unable to return to their villages, many Europeans are being held hostage, and the militants continue to recruit new fighters to make up for their losses.
Since Tuareg separatists rebelled last year in Mali, power has yet to stabilize between the north and south. After the military coup last year, the government is still on the rocks. Human Rights Watch has accused Malian soldiers of torture and other forms of abuse.
Elections are set for July, but some believe placing new people in power could cause uprising and unsettling in the country. Gregory Mann, an associate professor of history at Columbia University, who has been studying Mali, believes northerners’ rights could be taken away.
Timing is difficult to find between the separate parts of the country. As Temin stated, “Some people say you have to have elections before the government does that kind of outreach — but it’s hard to have legitimate elections without doing that kind of outreach.”
The French are planning to pull of Mali, so the UN’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed that about 11,000 new African troops intervene as peacemakers. For combat operations, he also suggested a second “parallel force.”