crisisgroup: Mali: No Quick Fixes for a Complex Crisis | allAfrica By Gilles Yabi The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has agreed on a revised concept of operations for the deployment of an international military force of 3,300 soldiers to help the Malian state wrest control of the northern part of the country from Islamist fighters. This step, taken on November 11 following a collective effort by regional and international partners, is welcome. But military intervention alone cannot solve the country’s deep crisis. The situation in Mali is desperately fractious. A military coup toppled the government in March, while separatists and al-Qaeda-linked fundamentalists took over the northern half of the country. Mali is now divided geographically, politically, militarily and religiously. FULL ARTICLE (allAfrica) Photo: Magharebia/Flickr   High-res

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Mali: No Quick Fixes for a Complex Crisis | allAfrica

By Gilles Yabi

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has agreed on a revised concept of operations for the deployment of an international military force of 3,300 soldiers to help the Malian state wrest control of the northern part of the country from Islamist fighters.

This step, taken on November 11 following a collective effort by regional and international partners, is welcome. But military intervention alone cannot solve the country’s deep crisis.

The situation in Mali is desperately fractious. A military coup toppled the government in March, while separatists and al-Qaeda-linked fundamentalists took over the northern half of the country. Mali is now divided geographically, politically, militarily and religiously.

FULL ARTICLE (allAfrica)

Photo: Magharebia/Flickr  

“The regime has been eroding for months now, but it still has an ability to do a tremendous amount of damage. But it is not in a position really to design and implement any strategy, let alone regain control over the country and start ruling anew. So now we see the crisis accelerating, the only question is, in what direction things are going into. It could be downfall, a collapse of the regime, it could be civil war, but there is no clear third option at this stage.”

Peter Harling, International Crisis Group

FULL ARTICLE (VOA)

(via crisisgroup)

“The French army is in Afghanistan at the service of the Afghans against terrorism and against the Taliban. The French army is not in Afghanistan so that Afghan soldiers can shoot at them.”

French President Nicholas Sarkozy announced that France is suspending its training and combat mission in Afghanistan after a soldier in the Afghan National Army killed four French soldiers in Taghab valley in the eastern province of Kapisa earlier today. He also said that France is now contemplating an early withdrawal. Check out my Storify of this piece of news! (via thepoliticalnotebook)