France: Hundreds of Islamist militants killed in Mali

[dipsydoodle]

41. The issue here is not one of anyone apparently supporting the jihadists

Its one of understanding the background to that area and Mali in general. The jihadists took advantage of general dissatisfaction by the Tuaregs.

For some history of the northern area see here : The Crisis in Mali: A Historical Perspective on the Tuareg People.

The Tuareg are a people that have lived in northern Mali “as early as the fifth century BCE” [1] according to Herodotus. After establishing the city of Timbuktu in the 11th century, the Tuareg “traded, traveled, and conquered throughout Saharan” over the next four centuries, eventually converting to Islam in the 14th century, which allowed them to “gain great wealth trading salt, gold, and black slaves.” [2] This independence was swept away when the French colonized Mali when they “defeated the Tuareg at Timbuktu and established borders and administrative districts to rule the area until Mali declared independence in 1960.” [3] The Tuareg people have consistently wanted self-independence and in pursuit of such goals have engaged in a number of rebellions.

The first was in 1916 when, in response to the French not giving the Tuareg their own autonomous zone (called Azawad) as was promised, they revolted. The French violently quelled the revolt and “subsequently confiscated important grazing lands while using Tuaregs as forced conscripts and labor – and fragmented Tuareg societies through the drawing of arbitrary boundaries between Soudan [Mali] and its neighbors.”[4]

Yet, this did not end the Tuareg goal of an independent, sovereign state. Once the French had ceded Mali independence, the Tuareg began to push toward their dream of establishing Azawad once again with “several prominent Tuareg leaders [lobbying] for a separate Tuareg homeland consisting of northern Mali and parts of modern day Algeria, Niger, Mauritania. […] [However,] black politicians like Modibo Keita, Mali’s first President, made it clear that independent Mali would not cede its northern territories.” [5]

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-crisis-in-mali-a-historical-perspective-on-the-tuareg-people/5321407

The other issue is one of corporate interests in Mali.

Small example here : Malian Farmers Want Their Land Back. http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/09/malian-farmers-want-their-land-back/

The general background to that is that the Malian government appropriated ALL farmland much of which has been turned over to western corporates for the production of sugar largely for the purpose of producing ethanol for export to the west. General unrest there had already caused the SA sugar company to pull out last May leaving really only FL based Schaffer Global Group. The significance of loss of private farmland lies in the absense of shea trees striped from the land for sugar production. Those tree have historically been used by Malian women for what is mainly their sole occupation - production of shea butter for use in the worldwide cosmetics industry.

If anyone thinks that issues in northern Mali, which is the size of Afghanistan, are solved then dream on.