French jets are pounding positions in the north as they try to prevent jihadists from advancing on Bamako. More help is on the way, with soldiers from across West Africa due to arrive within days, while France itself is to triple the number of its own troops. Laura Baines and her panel discuss whether France has committed itself to a long and difficult campaign in Africa.
French jets are pounding positions in the north as they try to prevent jihadists from advancing on Bamako. More help is on the way, with soldiers from across West Africa due to arrive within days while France itself is to triple the number of its own troops. Laura Baines and her panel discuss whether France has committed itself to a long and difficult campaign in Africa.
As France sends troops to Mali, Gregory Mann, a historian specialised in West Africa at Columbia University, highlights long-term factors that have allowed Jihadists to thrive in northern Mali. Mann argues that if European governments hadn’t paid ransoms over the years, and if European drug users didn’t have such a taste for Latin American cocaine that passes through West Africa, Mali wouldn’t be in such a mess today.
A matter of "several weeks", or is France now in it for the long haul in Mali? François Picard’s panel looks at the events that prompted France to deploy to Mali ahead of West African peacekeepers.
INTERNATIONAL PAPERS, Tues. 15/01/13: L’Observateur Paalga says the hardest is yet to come in Mali. Any international coalition needs to ensure the region doesn’t turn into "Sahelistan". Meanwhile, The Guardian explores why France is going solo in the intervention. And Lance Armstrong reportedly told Oprah he used performance-enhancing drugs.
France deployed a convoy of armoured tanks towards Mali’s restive north from the capital Bamako on Tuesday, as part of an expanding joint Malian-French offensive to retake the region from Islamist rebels.
FRENCH PAPERS, Tues. 15/01/13: French papers continue to focus on France’s military intervention in Mali. Liberation explores why France is acting alone and just who the Islamist in the North are. Meanwhile, Le Parisien investigates how authorities have stepped up security now that France is under threat.
A matter of "several weeks", or is France now in it for the long haul in Mali? François Picard’s panel looks at the events that prompted France to deploy to Mali ahead of West African peacekeepers.
A matter of "several weeks", or is France now in it for the long haul in Mali? François Picard’s panel looks at the events that prompted France to deploy to Mali ahead of West African peacekeepers.
A French soldier missing in action since Saturday’s failed commando raid to free hostage Denis Allex (pictured) in Somalia died from his injuries, an al Shabaab spokesman said on Monday. The rebel group also claims that Allex is still alive.
