Northern Mali

Mali: But this is not the last you will hear of Mali. In the intervening week, France has intervened militarily in the West African country, and yesterday Mr. Harper announced Canada will help its ally by flying equipment for a week into the Malian capital aboard an C-17 heavy-lift aircraft. Great Britain is also providing logistical support, and so, it appears, will the U.S, according to The Chronicle Herald. Sparsely populated northern Mali has been in such a state since last spring. The international community, including Malis neighbours, had been working on an action plan to counter the threat. But what precipitated the French airstrikes was the southward push of the insurgents and the prospect of a nation of 15 million people falling into the hands of dangerous radicals, who are already responsible for the exodus of 250,000 refugees from Mali and THE first you may have heard of Mali was last Tuesday, when Stephen Harper rejected a plea to send Canadian troops there. So why has Mali, all of a sudden, become a part of our vocabulary? The short answer is this: Afri-ghanistan. We are looking at an African version of pre-9-11 Afghanistan, where Taliban-style militias rule over a vast territory and provide a safe haven for al-Qaida. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.