Operation Serval: a Swift Intervention with a Small Footprint in Mali
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Mali: Extremism & Counter-Extremism
Mali: Extremism & Counter-Extremism On October 27, 2020, a Bamako court begins the trial of two men accused of orchestrating terror attacks in 2015 that targeted foreigners in Mali. At least 26 people were killed and at least 14 others were injured in an attack at La Terrasse nightclub in March 2015 and at the Radisson Blu hotel in November of the same year. The suspects face charges of planning and executing the attacks. The alleged mastermind, Mauritanian national Fawaz Ould Ahmeida, is accused of personally shooting victims at the nightclub as revenge for French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Also implicated in the attacks is Sadou Chaka, a Malian who investigators claim transported weapons in the Radisson Blu attack. The November 2015 Radisson Blu attack saw two armed men hold over 170 guests and staff hostage, killing 20 and wounding 14 others before security officers stormed the building. (Source: BBC News [1]) On August 18, 2020, Malian soldiers ambushed Bamako, the West African country’s capital, and arrested President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The mutineers call themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), and their spokesman, Colonel Ismael Wague, claims the group is “not keen on power, but we are keen on the stability of the country.” CNSP seeks to organize a general election that will provide Mali with stronger institutions. The head of the African Union Commission and other West African leaders have condemned the uprising, demanding the release of the president. The country is currently embroiled in protests as disgruntled citizens are demanding new leadership to counter the growing threat of extremism and economic instability. -
Preventing Or Redirecting Violence a Study on Violence Against United Nations Peackeeping Operations in the Presence of Other Third-Party Military Operations
PREVENTING OR REDIRECTING VIOLENCE A STUDY ON VIOLENCE AGAINST UNITED NATIONS PEACKEEPING OPERATIONS IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHER THIRD-PARTY MILITARY OPERATIONS Daniel Forslund Master's Thesis Autumn 2020 Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University Supervisor: Lisa Hultman Word Count: 21639 Abstract United nations peacekeeping is a contentious issue. What is mostly agreed on though, is that the brave men and women around the world risking their lives in peacekeeping missions around the world deserve the best security and protection the international community can offer. However, little research has been focused on the reasons behind violence against peacekeepers. This thesis theorizes that the presence of a third-party military operation that threatens the operational capabilities of rebel groups has the potential to cause an increase in rebel violence against a United Nations Peacekeeping operation in the same conflict. Through examining conflict dynamics in the cases of Mali and the Central African Republic utilizing of a structured, focused comparison, the hypothesized relationship and causal explanations were put to the test. The expectation was that in Mali, the high levels of violence would be explained by the effectiveness of the French counterinsurgency operation in the country. In the Central African Republic, the contrary was expected. However, the hypothesis could not be confirmed. Due to some rather large caveats and limitations, the research gap could not be satisfied. Nonetheless, the study creates plenty for avenues of future research, and opportunities to learn from the challenges encountered. Acknowledgements This thesis came awfully close to never being finished. Thus, I owe several people a lot of gratitude for helping me getting here. -
Mali: Extremism & Counter-Extremism
Mali: Extremism & Counter-Extremism On August 18, 2020, Malian soldiers ambushed Bamako, the West African country’s capital, and arrested President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The mutineers call themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), and their spokesman, Colonel Ismael Wague, claims the group is “not keen on power, but we are keen on the stability of the country.” CNSP seeks to organize a general election that will provide Mali with stronger institutions. The head of the African Union Commission and other West African leaders have condemned the uprising, demanding the release of the president. The country is currently embroiled in protests as disgruntled citizens are demanding new leadership to counter the growing threat of extremism and economic instability. Later that day, Keita issued a brief address from a military base in Kati where he had been detained. In the address, he announced his resignation and the dissolution of parliament. As of August 24, 2020, Keita has yet to be released by the junta. (Sources: Washington Post [1], CNN [2], Reuters [3], Washington Post [4]) On June 4, 2020, French troops launched an operation in Talhandak, northern Mali. The operation targeted top al-Qaeda leader, Abdelmalek Droukdal [5], the head of al-Qaeda’s affiliates in North Africa and the Sahel. Droukdal engineered al- Qaeda’s expansion throughout the Sahel and Magreb through financing, planning, and carrying out terrorist attacks. (Source: The Hill [6]) In May 2020, ISIS fighters detonated a truck bomb along the desert frontier between Mali and Burkina Faso. Unlike similar previous attacks—where ISIS fighters targeted soldiers and villagers—this attack targeted al-Qaeda militants. -
The Varied Effects of Military Intervention on Public Schooling in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso
Bowdoin College Bowdoin Digital Commons Honors Projects Student Scholarship and Creative Work 2021 Education Amid Stabilization: The Varied Effects of Military Intervention on Public Schooling in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso Arjun S. Mehta Bowdoin College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/honorsprojects Part of the African Studies Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, Defense and Security Studies Commons, International Relations Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Mehta, Arjun S., "Education Amid Stabilization: The Varied Effects of Military Intervention on Public Schooling in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso" (2021). Honors Projects. 268. https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/honorsprojects/268 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship and Creative Work at Bowdoin Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of Bowdoin Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Education Amid Stabilization The Varied Effects of Military Intervention on Public Schooling in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso An honors paper for the Department of Government and Legal Studies By Arjun S. Mehta Bowdoin College, 2021 © 2021 Arjun S. Mehta Table of Contents Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv List of Tables, Figures, and Maps v List of Abbreviations vi Chapter I: Introduction & Literature Review 1 Hypothesis and Methodology 4 Research Questions 6 Structure of -
Mali Mission Brief
Mali Mission Brief I. Activity Summary Overview Mali is an exemplar of a complex crisis, involving a military coup, a separatist insurgency, an extremist insurgency involving terrorism, a weak state with a limited capacity to tackle corruption and organized crime, failed security sector reform, and regional power struggles. Mali is also a case of diverse peace operations that have not been well designed to resolve the country’s crisis. By 2011, Mali was widely considered one of the most successful examples of democracy in Africa, having held free and fair elections since 1991. But Mali has suffered a number of rebellions in its northern regions since gaining independence from France in 1960, spurred by inequality and discrimination between the country's arid north, populated by nomadic peoples, most notably Tuaregs, and its southern power center in the capital (Bamako), as well as by competition within nomadic communities. Additionally, the Malian Sahara has been particularly affected by conflict spillover, including terrorism and unrest in Algeria and Libya. In 2007, the Islamist group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which had first established bases in northern Mali in the early 2000s, became increasingly active. In early 2012, the return of well-armed Malian Tuaregs who had traveled to Libya to defend Muammar Gaddafi in the Libyan civil war, seized the opportunity to advance their interests, and sparked a rebellion combining Tuareg irredentism and militant Islamism. The combination of increased activity of AQIM and other splinter groups, grave humanitarian circumstances, and a secessionist agenda of the Tuareg led to crisis, which in turn spurred the development of one of the most complex and multifaceted international peace operations to date. -
Mali: Extremism and Terrorism
Mali: Extremism and Terrorism On June 10, 2021, France announced that it would end Operation Barkhane, France’s seven-year anti-terror mission in Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Niger, and Mauritania. According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the mission will allegedly be replaced by a more international effort that would focus on supporting and cooperating with armies in the region that ask for assistance. Central to the new effort will be the Takuba Task Force—the European military task force led by France which advises, assists, and accompanies Malian Armed forces in the Sahel. The details will be finalized by the end of June following consultations with the United States, other European countries deployed in the region, and the five Sahel countries under Operation Barkhane’s purview. France’s withdrawal comes at a critical juncture, as militants regularly attack Mali’s army is poorly equipped and underfunded to adequately repel attacks. (Sources: CNN, Reuters, France 24) On August 18, 2020, Malian soldiers ambushed Bamako, the West African country’s capital, and arrested President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The mutineers call themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), and their spokesman, Colonel Ismael Wague, claims the group seeks to organize a general election that will provide Mali with stronger institutions. Keita later issued a brief address announcing his resignation and the dissolution of parliament. Keita was released on August 27, 2020, and on October 6, 2020, the CNSP appointed retired Colonel Bah Ndaw as interim president, and Moctar Ouane—a civilian—as prime minister. The transition government is expected to lead to an election in 18 months. -
Regions at Risk: Preventing Mass Atrocities in Mali
AUTHORS Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim is an Early Warning Fellow with the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide. He is a PhD candidate in Political Science and a research associate with the Sahel Research Group at the University of Florida. Mollie Zapata is a Research Associate with the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Simon-Skjodt Center would like to thank the Malian men and women who agreed to be interviewed for this report. Staff are particularly indebted to those who took the time to share their personal stories, experiences, and perspectives. We thank colleagues who reviewed and commented on an early draft, especially Alexis Arieff, Kamissa Camara, Corinne Dufka, Andrew Lebovich, Michael Shurkin, and Alex Thurston. REGIONS AT RISK: PREVENTING MASS ATROCITIES IN MALI Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 2 Actor Table ......................................................................................................................... 4 Mali Recent Conflict Timeline ............................................................................................. 6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 6 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 7 Structural Risk Factors in Northern and Central Mali ........................................................ -
MALI CONFLICT and AFTERMATH Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting, 2012-2017 WATCH
HUMAN RIGHTS MALI CONFLICT AND AFTERMATH Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting, 2012-2017 WATCH Mali Conflict and Aftermath Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting 2012-2017 Copyright © 2017 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org Mali Conflict and Aftermath Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting, 2012-2017 Human Rights Watch extensively investigated the human rights situation in Mali during the 2012-2013 armed conflict, the accompanying political upheaval, and the southward spread of Islamist armed group activity from 2015 to 2017. This document contains much of Human Rights Watch’s reporting and analysis during that period. In our advocacy we called on all sides to abide by international humanitarian law—the laws of war—and urged Mali’s government to take concrete steps with the assistance of its international supporters to address the conditions that led to the crisis.