Rebel Alliances Strengthen In Mali's North

Rebel Alliances Strengthen In Mali's North, Rattling Neighboring Countries -- Christian Science Monitor

The northern two-thirds of Mali is now under control of Tuareg and Islamist rebels who want to redraw national boundaries and export revolution. Displaced minorities tell of brutality.

Here in Mali's capital city, after a military coup, it's not entirely clear who is in charge.

Mali's elected president, Amadou Toumani Toure, has been thrown out of power by mid-ranking officers. Those officers have put in place a politician, Dioncounda Traore, who was promptly beaten by civilian protesters in his own palace and is now seeking medical treatment in France. The coup leaders, in the meantime, have promised to hand over power to a civilian government once elections have been held, although they have not given a timeline yet.

Up north, however, there is no question who is in charge.

Read more ....

My Comment: For the moment this rebel-Islamic alliance is not working. But I would not be surprised if .... in the future .... this alliance comes back.