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1 1 (August 16, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbaua0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inornfic th legislative debate snce 1914 Conflict in Mali Updated August 16, 2019 Mali faces intertwined security and governance challenges. The government signed a peace accord with northern separatist rebels in 2015, but key provisions remain un- implemented. Signatory armed groups continue to assert territorial control in much of the vast desert north. At the same time, Islamist insurgent groups have expanded from the north into previously stable central Mali, leveraging (and fomenting) interethnic violence and local resentment toward state actors to recruit supporters. Islamist extremists have also carried out attacks in and near the capital, Bamako. In the center and northeast, civilian massacres by ethnic militias-some of which appear to have the tacit backing of state actors-have contributed to worsening insecurity. Rebel, terrorist, communal, and criminal armed networks are fluid and shifting, complicating conflict resolution. Some Malians have proposed peace talks with jihadist groups, but the idea remains controversial. These challenges have severely undermined already daunting development prospects in Mali, one of the world's poorest countries. Poverty, high population growth, poor infrastructure, environmental factors, and conflict have driven widespread food insecurity. Security threats and limited donor funding have constrained humanitarian relief. As of mid-2019, about 148,000 Malians were internally displaced (roughly double the number in 2018) and nearly 140,000 were refugees in neighboring states. Insecurity and a lack of basic services have impeded refugee returns. President Ibrahim Boubacar K~fta won reelection to a second five-year term in 2018 in a vote featuring low turnout and some procedural irregularities. Security threats disrupted or prevented voting in hundreds of polling stations, many of them in central Mali. K&fta's margin of victory and the number of votes cast for him were lower than in his 2013 election, which restored civilian government after a military coup. Corruption scandals may have undermined faith in Kdta's leadership among members of his largely southern constituency, along with his government's inability to improve living standards, ensure security, or reassert state control over the north. Foreign troops have deployed to Mali in an effort to bolster stability and counter terrorism. The mandate of the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) includes supporting the 2015 peace accord and protecting civilians. Over 1,000 French troops are also based in the country as part of Operation Barkhane, a regional counterterrorism mission that grew out of France's 2013 military intervention in Mali. The European Union (EU) has a multi-year program to train and restructure the Malian military. In 2017, the G5 Sahel-a regional grouping of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad-launched a joint force to counter security threats in border regions. The initiative has received donor backing but has conducted few operations to date; a lack of capacity and resources, mutual distrust, and divergent priorities among states in the region have hampered its effectiveness. Figure I. Mali at a Glance Source: CRS graphic, drawn from CIA World Factbook and IMF; 2018 estimates unless noted. Background: Mali's 201 -2013 Crisis Between 2011 and 2013, a complex political, security, and humanitarian crisis devastated Mali's military, central government institutions, and northern populations. In 2011, members of the semi-nomadic Tuareg minority launched a separatist rebellion in the north, leveraging fighters and arms flowing from war-torn Libya. They were supported by a local group linked to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), an Algerian-led regional terrorist network and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). In early 2012, soldiers angered by their leaders' mishandling of the war ousted Mali's elected president in a coup. Amid the ensuing military collapse, the northern rebels declared an independent state of Azawad. By mid-2012, however, AQIM and its local allies and offshoots had outmaneuvered the separatists and asserted control over most of the north, an area about the size of Texas. These events displaced hundreds of thousands and exacerbated a regional humanitarian emergency spurred by a severe drought. In early 2013, citing a sudden southward jihadist advance, France deployed its military to oust jihadists from northern towns. The United States provided logistical support, while Chadian soldiers aided French ground operations. Separatist rebels then reasserted control over some of the territory vacated by Islamist groups. A mid-2013 ceasefire between the transitional government and separatist rebels paved the way for elections and peace talks. MINUSMA deployed https:/icrsreportscong ess

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