Militant Islamist rebels have seized the strategic central Malian town of Douentza, extending the area they control in the north of the country.
Witnesses said fighters of the Movement for Unity and Jihad group took the town after a brief stand-off with the local self-defence militia.
The move brings the militants closer to the government-held south-west.
I know it is inconvenient that the northern separatists and their jihadi friends aren't just sitting there patiently waiting for someone to do something about them.
Keep up this passivity in the face of the rebellion and the rebels will simply take the entire country of Mali.
UPDATE: Long suspicious of ECOWAS intentions, Mali has apparently decided that some organized ground forces might be of assistance:
Mali's interim leader has made a formal request to west African regional body ECOWAS for military assistance to help free the country's north, which has been occupied since April by Islamists, France's special representative for the Sahel said on Tuesday.
The 3,000 troops--from numerous countries--that ECOWAS could call on won't be enough to defeat the northern secessionists and jihadis. And that's assuming ECOWAS is more interested in countering secession more than countering the coup attempt in Mali.
France's involvement in the discussions is important. I still think a French Foreign Legion regiment could provide the core of a counter-attack force to scatter the northern resistance. But perhaps there is a belief that a heavy amount of Western air and special forces support is deemed enough to do the job if ECOWAS troops go north.
