A week ago in Mali, a series of simultaneous attacks on strategic positions of the army in several cities, including the capital Bamako, has shaken the junta in power. The number 2 of the regime, Defense Minister Sadio Camara, was killed in Kati while the symbolic city of Kidal in the north fell into the hands of the rebels. A setback for the junta and for the Russian paramilitaries forced to retreat.
Attacks jointly carried out by Jnim (Support Group for Islam and Muslims, affiliated with al-Qaeda) and the FLA, the Azawad Liberation Front, this vast northern area of Mali whose Tuareg separatists have been claiming independence for decades.
On Tuesday, February 28th, after three days of silence, the junta leader, Assimi Goïta, called for a national awakening and declared the situation under control. However, the rebels continue to advance: they seized the strategic military camp of Tessalit in the north yesterday.
What are Jnim and the FLA seeking? Do they have the same objectives or are they temporary allies? Can the junta, which controls barely 30% of the territory, hold onto power after failing, with its Russian partners, to restore peace and state authority throughout the country? In case of a collapse of the military regime, should we fear a domino effect in the Sahel? What role is Algeria playing behind the scenes?
With: – Bakary Samb, Director of the Timbuktu Institute and founder of the Observatory of Radicalisms and Religious Conflicts – Francis Kpatindé, former journalist, Africa specialist, and teacher at Sciences Po – Oumar Berté, political scientist, lawyer associated with the Paris Bar and research associate at the legal studies center of the University of Rouen Normandy.
