Comments on: The sandstorm of war in northern Mali

By: Jeannick

Jeannick — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:30:13 +0000

.
Thanks for the article ,
it’s like fresh water after the desert of the official experts commentators

I’m writing this as the French announce the second part of their strategy
of ” hello madame ..good bye madame ”

obviously some kind of understanding with some of the Targuis ,
including a reluctance to enter Kidal proper ,
There are talks of bringing a U.N. fig leaf to be used as buffer while
talks are held ?!
The French are getting their boots out of there
beside the running costs in those times of restraint
and Mr Hollande having drunk his fill of the heady draught of victory
they are too wary of becoming tangled into internal Malian politics

probably they are aware than if boldness bring success
staying too long would bring bad luck

By: Andy Morgan

Andy Morgan — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:37:24 +0000

Thanks Paul,
My take is that Libyan arms ‘amplified’ already existing issues and tensions and enabled certain groups like the Touareg natoinalists and the Islamist militia to go further with their various projects than otherwise. But they weren’t the prime reason or motivation behind what’s been happening this past year. Also, it must be remembered that the Touareg had a love hate relationship with Ghadafi, and that Ghadafi had also invested a great deal of money in southern Bamako in the years leading up to the rebellion. In fact the largest and most vociferous pro Ghadafi demonstration in Mali happened in Bamako in the summer of 2011 and not in the north. So the whole issue is a great deal more nuanced that the usual “Touareg pro-Ghadafi mercenaries came back from Libya and caused havoc in Mali.”

By: Paul Woodward

Paul Woodward — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:35:52 +0000

Andy – thanks for your highly informative piece. Some media reports (e.g. this in Time http://world.time.com/2013/01/14/war-in-mali-france-can-bomb-militants-but-not-arms-routes/ ) are strongly emphasizing the role of weapons from Libya in the war in Mali. What’s your assessment of the significance of this specific supply line?

By: Mali and the sandstorm of war — War in Context

Mali and the sandstorm of war — War in Context — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:06:36 +0000

[...] Andy Morgan writes: The vastly conflicting accounts of victories, defeats, advances, retreats, casualties and captives that have come spewing forth from the mouths of the spokespersons on either side of the conflict in recent days illustrate the dire opacity of this conflict and the near impossibility for a journalist to find the copper-bottomed truth about what is going on. A friend who works for Al Jazeera recently told me that in her honest opinion, the war in Northern Mali is the hardest conflict to understand in the world. Even obsessives like myself, who spend more time reading reports and analyses about the crisis or talking to people closely involved than is strictly healthy, have to admit that more often than not we are enveloped in a sandstorm of supposition and guess work. [...]

By: The sandstorm of war in northern Mali « Afrinoticias

The sandstorm of war in northern Mali « Afrinoticias — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 16:17:58 +0000

[...] http://www.andymorganwrites.com/the-sandstorm-of-war-in-northern-mali/ [...]

By: Bruce Whitehouse

Bruce Whitehouse — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:23:11 +0000

Very plausible analysis, Andy. Meanwhile in Bamako, a state of emergency has (finally) been decreed, and there are reports of new mob violence against Tuareg-owned businesses….

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:09:14 +0000

yes, but

the only names thatI have seen associated with the attack on konna are AQIM names. Quite possible that AQIM is freelancing. What evidence is there that Ansar Al Dine joined this attack in “the south”?