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1 1 (January 17, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govbcwx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ~~k\ %~cnc)'n~S$W~flas riE SE .$rCh &~ ~ ~ gognpq go g , q 's a X 11LULANJILiN, Updated January 17, 2020 Conflict in Mali Mali has faced severe security and governance challenges since a northern separatist rebellion, an Islamist insurgency, and a military coup shook the country from 2011 to 2013. Security conditions have worsened despite a 2015 peace deal between the government and northern rebels, as an Islamist insurgency has expanded from the north into central Mali, leveraging and fomenting local tensions and resentment toward state actors. Ethnic militias some of which appear to enjoy state backing or tacit support have carried out large massacres, contributing to worsening insecurity. Bamako (Figure 1) has also been a target of terrorist attacks, with some targeting Western nationals. Rebel, terrorist, communal defense, and criminal networks are fluid and shifting, complicating conflict resolution. These challenges have undermined already daunting development prospects in Mali. As of late 2019, over 201,000 Malians were internally displaced (roughly double the number from a year earlier) and nearly 139,000 were refugees in neighboring countries, per U.N. figures. Food insecurity is widespread. Security threats and limited donor funding have constrained humanitarian relief. President Ibrahim Boubacar K6ita won reelection to a second five-year term in 2018. Security threats disrupted or prevented voting in some areas. Turnout was low; K6ita's margin of victory and the number of votes cast for him were lower than in 2013, when his election restored civilian rule after a military coup. Corruption scandals, along with the government's inability to improve living standards, ensure security, or assert state control over the north, appear to have undermined public faith. Legislative elections due in 2018 have been repeatedly delayed. Foreign troops are in to Mali to help bolster stability and counter terrorism. In addition to a U.N. peacekeeping operation (discussed below), over 1,000 French troops are in Mali under Operation Barkhane, a regional counterterrorism mission that evolved from France's 2013 intervention in Mali. The European Union (EU) has a multi- year program to train and restructure the Malian military. In 2017, the G5 Sahel comprising Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad-launched a joint force to counter security threats in border regions. A lack of capacity, mutual distrust, and divergent priorities among participating countries have hampered its effectiveness. Donors have pledged funds, but not all have materialized. The north-south peace process may have contained seeds of Mali's further destabilization. It arguably rewarded those who took up arms, while forcing both Bamako and separatist leaders to make concessions that are deeply unpopular with their respective constituencies. The accord also arguably alienated communities, in the north and elsewhere, that felt victimized by both the state and ethnic or communal rivals who were granted a seat at the table. Designated jihadist groups were not party to the talks. Figure I. Mali at a Glance Papulationm 18.4 milkon 42.4% urban36 Size; Mgtts, than 2x z oTexasI V . . . . . . . . . . . . .. : : : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GDP31raw.-h/Per-ap=it=4.======2=== == oler/non ae 3%'0 Ehnkitear 8ar n a %, I s n ufo 10% M rnk 9 %, D~go n 9%, Songh ai 6%, Fetiiity Ret'si 5S chi!dreni~woma3 work !f s5th hbighe HyiV/ADS Adult NeVallce; 1.4% Key lImpans/Iniport Partners: p-[olim va~e y nd equ ipme nt o~n str udi o natsriais foa d stufts, textes s/ Key p oc-rts/Export Partnersi cOtton, gld i j vestock / Source: CRS graphic. Facts from CIA World Factbook and International Monetary Fund; 2018 estimates unless noted. B , ro I ,'', Kau$ ,, 20 k* 2 -0 t . C 6,.'4 & In 2011, members of the semi-nomadic ethnic Tuareg minority launched a separatist rebellion in the north, with fighters and arms flowing from Libya. In early 2012, soldiers angered by their leaders' mishandling of the war ousted Mali's elected president. Amid the ensuing military collapse, the rebels declared an independent state of Azawad. By mid-2012, however, local affiliates and offshoots of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM, an Algerian-origin regional network) some of which had fought alongside the rebellion had outmaneuvered the separatists and asserted control over the north, a sparsely populated desert area about the size of Texas. These events displaced hundreds of thousands and exacerbated a humanitarian emergency spurred by drought. In early 2013, citing a sudden southward jihadist advance, France deployed its military to oust Islamist fighters from northern towns. The United States provided logistical support, while Chadian soldiers aided ground operations. Separatist rebels then reasserted control over some areas vacated by Islamist groups. A mid-2013 ceasefire between a transitional government and separatist groups paved the way for elections and peace talks, while French strikes appeared to weaken Islamist insurgents. MINUSMA deployed, succeeding and absorbing a nascent African Union (AU) intervention. K6ita, a veteran politician, was elected in late 2013 and his coalition won a majority in parliament. The same year, charges were brought against coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo for the killings of rival soldiers, but trial proceedings have been subject to repeated delays. '.0 K~:>

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