1、 October 3, 2014 Mali: Current Issues With substantial international assistance, Mali has emerged from a complex political and security crisis, yet still faces stark challenges. Between 2011 and 2013, Mali experienced a separatist rebellion in the north led by members of the nomadic minority ethnic
2、Tuareg community, a military coup that overthrew an elected government, a regional drought that caused a food security crisis, and ultimately the takeover of the northern two-thirds of the country by Islamist extremists. By mid-2012, three Islamist extremist groups had routed or integrated most of t
3、he separatist fighters and asserted control over most of northern Mali. These groups were: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a regional network led primarily by Algerian nationals; the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA), an AQIM splinter faction founded by Mauritanian and Mali
4、an Arabs; and a Malian Tuareg-led group, Ansar al Dine. In 2013, MUJWA and another AQIM splinter faction merged as Al Murabitoun, a group described by the State Department as “the greatest near-term threat to U.S. and international interests in the Sahel.” These groups reportedly have ties to the Ni
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