Northern Mali: The Sahel time-bomb explodes
An attack by a group of Islamist extremists in Northern Mali cast a cruel light on the risk of destabilization facing the area and, beyond it, the entire Sahel region. Launched by France on Jan. 11, a military operation dubbed Serval quickly restored the status quo ante. And in rapidly wresting control of the regions exercised by three Islamist groups since April 2012 (Mujao, Ansar Dine and AQMI) [...]