Mali: diplomacy in the service of military intervention

Have negotiations with some of the Islamists who have been in control the past seven months in northern Mali applying a brutal Sharia they have reached a new milestone this weekend?  le Figaro asks.

Pressed by the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, to break with its jihadist allies of AQIM (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and Mujao (Movement for unity and jihad in West Africa),  the Ansar Dine spokesman in the Ouagadougou talks spoke of his organisation's "independence" and its willingness to negotiate for peace.

Ansar Dine represetatives were also in Algiersandthe AlgerianDail El Watan wrotethat it was not impossible that the talks would lead to Ansar Dine disassociating itself from Al Qaeda and Mujao.Paradoxically, this diplomatic overture does not seem to affect the military intervention actively being  prepared by Ecowas and the African Union which will be supported logistically by the France and the United States to restore the territorial integrity of Mali and eradicate al-Qaeda in the region. On the contrary, it might even help,Le Figaro affirms.

Supporters of the military intervention are aware that to prevent the reconstruction of a terrorist sanctuary in the region once the terrorists have been eliminated,local forces have to be used. Ansar Dine is composed of Malian Tuaregs, unlike AQIM and its allies Mujao who rely on foreign jihadists .If AnsarDine is willing to fall in line, the military intervention may  be smoother than expected.

Whatever the outcome, Algerian negotiations with Ansar Dine and its leader, Iyad ag Ghaly, also facilitate the diplomatic side of the case in Mali.  Although it is an actor in the crisis, Algeria has never been very supportive of military intervention. Citing an"authorised" Algerian source El Watan believes that the goal of Algiers is now " to put the Tuareg in the political game and isolate and weaken the terrorists in anticipation of their treatment in terms of security."
 
Support for international intervention of the great neighbouring Algeria, its army, its intelligence and its long experience with the Tuareg and the GIA (Armed Islamic Group), the ancestor of AQIM, is considered essential by those planning the operation. Washington and Paris are working hand in hand to rally Algeria to the cause.
 
 Whether or not promises of the jihadist movement are acted upon, the Algerian authorities have made their approach to Ansar Dine with which they have links. They might now consider themselves free to change their position, Le Figaro concludes.