Thanks Roger, I've learned something today!

Ok Ivory Coast was not an outright disaster but tainted as 'neocolonialism' and did see some hiccups like French troops shooting unarmed protesters in the streets 2004.
Opération Licorne | Slate Afrique

WA = l'Afrique de l'Ouest

In Mali, the French are on their own on the ground as a Western power. They have taken great care to avoid collateral damage. Interestingly they are only using Special Forces for combat, together with Malian soldiers.
A model for the future?

"Ok Ivory Coast was not an outright disaster but tainted as 'neocolonialism'"
I don't agree with this opinion, the French intervention was supported by ONU ans his aim was to enforce the election of Ouatara recognized by international community .
RR

That is something I try to do EVERY day!! :-)

..... although I don't think I will EVER understand why Gambian military checkpoints are sometimes 100metres apart, asking the same questions! :rolleyes2:

If anyone would like a good introduction to the complexities of the Saharan situation regarding AQIM and kidnapping of tourists in recent years, or a condensed (all things being relative!) take on many of the topics we have been discussing over the years in this and Chris Scott's old kidnapping thread, they could do worse than to read

Mali | Andy Morgan Writes

All the usual suspects rounded up and poked at as it were.

Thankyou very much for that link - invaluable and highly detailed.

A lot is going on in Mali now
some of it outrageous
some of it lacking credible sources
some of it probably pure desinformation

Exclusif maliweb: Gao – Suspicion de complicité pour la libération de deux narco trafiquants - maliweb.net
Mali Deux avions qataris à la rescousse des djihadistes au Mali - Malijet
etc follow the links
BBC News - Why the Sahara is not the 'new Afghanistan'
BBC News - Mali conflict: French ransom cash 'funded militants'

This is a comment on the BBC article BBC News - Mali conflict: French ransom cash 'funded militants' that Priffe posted above.

The aricle is of interest because if one is kidnapped in the Sahara then one's fate is determined more by the governments at home than by AQIM. As we know, there is a greater probability of being freed if one is Italian or Spanish, for example, than British or French. The attitude of one's own government to the ransom demands is therefore key to controlling how things are likely to turn out.

The article has, as its leader "A former US ambassador to Mali has told the BBC that France paid ransom money to free hostages and the funds ended up bolstering Islamist groups it is now fighting."

This thread on the Hubb is reaching 68 000 views. Let's be conservative and say that 1000 unique people have read the thread. I would wager that at least 90% of those people will know that European governments pay ransom money. The only reason this is news is because the former US ambassador has said it. Unfortunately the article stops short of any interesting analysis. This is fairly normal for the mainstream media like BBC.

The interesting detail about the article is that the French are reported as having paid $17m to free 3 hostages. There are still several French citizens from the Arlit kidnapping still being held - four I think. Their names are Daniel Larribe, Thierry Dole, Marc Feret and Pierre Legrand. So why has the French government not paid for these 4? Elsewhere it is reported that the ransom for these 4 is 90m euros. The difference between $17m and 90m euros is not large to a government looking to end an awful chapter such as this. So why not pay? One reason which applies currently is that ransom money would essentially mean arming those who are now fighting other French nationals in Mali. And the consequence is therefore that as long as French troops are in Mali, those who are held in captivity cannot be freed on AQIM's terms. The only way is by force.

24 Tchadians killed north of Kidal (unconfirmed!)
Tchad - Mali : 24 soldats du contingent tchadien tués et 11 blessés dans une embuscade au nord de Kidal - Le site Ndouné | Toute l’actualité en temps réel
Street fighting and suicide bombers in Gao
Mali: un commando islamiste attaque Gao après deux attentats suicide - Dépêches - El Watan

Above report of Chadian deaths was fake but this one isn't
Chadians attack Islamists' Mali mountain hideout | Reuters

Also of general interest GCTAT Excellence and Expertise in Terrorism Analysis
Analysis Al-Jazeera interviews AQIM hostages - GCTAT sample analysis - YouTube
US Troops On The Ground In Niger - Business Insider

Abou Zeid reported among 40 dead near Tigharghar
http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/articl...0892_3212.html

Wonder how will this affect the hostage situation.
Leaves MBM as the uncontested emir in the Sahara/Sahel.

And Algeria is to confirm his ID with DNA tests as they have five of his family in jail.But then again, how many times has El Para been killed? :)

DNA tests to confirm death of al-Qaeda chief in Algeria

Sky breaking that MBM believed killed

I think you may have meant MBM, budric, but looks like he's got it too. These Chadian soldiers have had a successful week, though at no small cost. And what of the hostages, I wonder.

If it's all true you'd hope this could be the beginning of the end of the whole 'AQIM' business out there. Just wonder what will replace it, if that happens.

Ch