Hosted by Erin Brown, featuring Nasser Wedaddy
It has been an intense week in Mali. On Saturday, a coalition of armed groups made up of Islamic jihadists and Tuareg separatists attacked military installations around the capital, Bamako, and in other cities in the country’s desert interior. The defense minister was killed in a truck bombing, a major military base on the outskirts of Bamako was attacked, and Russian mercenaries who were assisting the country’s military junta fled. The offensive has the potential to lead to the downfall of the junta — and the reshaping of the region.
New Lines‘ North Africa editor, Erin Brown, spoke with Nasser Weddady, a regional expert focused on civil rights and security, to understand the recent events, the complex alliances at play and what the future holds for the Sahel.