I've long insisted that resolving the Tuareg demands for autonomy is key to keeping the north of Mali from returning to a haven for jihadis. Only the temporary French presence in Mali--thin as it is--is keeping the lid on this problem:
The Malian army is concentrating troops near the northeastern town of Kidal, which is controlled by the MNLA rebels. The MNLA means (in French) “Liberation Army of Azawad” and the Mali government is upset that MNLA men control most of the rural (and very thinly populated) areas in the north. The only large town the MNLA controls is Kidal and the Mali troops are threatening to take it back by force. It’s unlikely the Mali soldiers and police could handle the MNLA gunmen, so the concentration of security forces near Kidal is seen more as a bargaining tactic than as a real threat to the MNLA. Negotiations with the MNLA have not gone well as the rebels are insisting on an autonomy agreement and the French and African peacekeepers have been unwilling to shut down the MNLA for the Mali government. The Mali Army is seen as more of a threat to an elected Mali government than to the Tuareg rebels.
But I'm sure the French of all people have a deeply nuanced post-major combat phase plan to stabilize Mali.
So I don't even know why I'm worrying.
UPDATE: Thanks to Pseudo-Polymath for the link.
