The French army is waging a war against terrorism in Mali under the order launched by François Hollande on January 17, 2013. The operation called
Serval aims to retake the Islamist-occupied north of Mali. The city of Gao was taken on Saturday, January 26, and French troops controlled access to Tambouctou, a major historical city in the region.
Presentation of Mali
- Mali is one of the largest countries in West Africa.
- Its population is estimated in 2010 at 14.5 million inhabitants.
It is composed of many ethnic groups and several languages. - The Niger River runs through the country, which has no access to the sea. On both sides, the landscapes are very varied.
- The economy is essentially linked to the primary sector
livestock, cereal farming, fishing. The country is particularly poor.
174th out of 177, according to the United Nations. - The capital is Bamako with 1.8 million
inhabitants.
Contemporary history of Mali
In 1960 the federation between Mali and Senegal broke up. The French Sudan
Sudan became independent and decided to take the name of Mali. Its first socialist president, Modibo Keita, was the victim of a general Moussa Traoré took power in 1968. He
installs a
dictatorship for the next 22 years. In 1990, however
however, the Malian people revolt, with the help of the army. Two years of transition, during which the army was in power, led to the
power, effectively lead to the establishment of democracy.
Since then, the political regime has been maintained, and has had to deal with the Tuareg uprisings and the
uprisings, as well as the terrorists of the Islamic Maghreb
islamic Maghreb terrorists.
Mali: summary of political news
On March 22, 2012, the government was overthrown for its inability to deal with the conflicts in northern Mali.
On April 1, 2012, a Tuareg revolt (MNLA
(National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad + Ançar
Dine (Islamist movement that wants to impose Sharia law)
Four days later, the MNLA claimed independence
of Azawad, unanimously condemned by the parties in Mali and the African Union.
On January 11, 2013, the insurgents took the town
of Konna. The interim Malian president appealed to
French President François Hollande, who launched the Servalintervention.
Serval. TheFrench army bombed the towns the following week.
Most African countries and Western states supported the intervention of this intervention.
Sixty to 70% of the French people said they were also in favor of this decision.
