Two Malian soldiers were killed and many others wounded because of a suicide attack in the northern Mali. A patrol was passing through a village near the city of Gao when several militants detonated their explosives. As France begins to withdraw some of their troops, the fighting continues between Islamists rebels and the Malian government. France intervened in January to help drive out the Islamist rebels from the North. Al-Qaeda-linked militants took advantage of a coup in March 2012 to take control of the north of Mali, with this they imposed a strict form of northern law in the area. Between French and African troops they have managed to drive the rebels out of the northern cities, but many of the rebels are hiding in the desert and from there the launch isolated attacks against the French and Malian forces.

Since the French intervened in January, six of their soldiers have been killed. Last month the French decided to withdraw a hundred of their troops  and hope to have only 1000 soldiers left in the country and be able to hand over the duties to the African force by the end of 2013. The European Union is currently training 2000 Malian soldiers, and also says that “their weakness in the face of the Islamist advance was what prompted the French intervention in the first place”. I found this interesting after what we discussed in class about the line between the Islamic and Christians and how there is still conflict and it does not seem like it will stop any time soon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22416987