A peace accord to end the conflict in the north of Mali is signed by the government and several militia and rebel factions. Same players, different ties: France's delicate role in Mali Islamists have warned that French troops will become bogged down for years.• Back to the top The north has chafed under southern rule; the region has seen major rebellions from the Tuareg – nomadic – communities who feel marginalised in an already poor country. "We need national dialogue," says Awa Traoré, a retired schoolteacher who lives in a simple apartment in the heart of Bamako. Yet this is a vague and murky objective that can be defined many ways. They quickly gained control of a vast desert expanse roughly the size of A year later, Mali's government is a transitional one, an awkward and incoherent partnership between interim President Dioncounda Traoré – a veteran politician firmly entrenched in Mali's deservedly maligned political class – and elements from the former military junta.Though they have formally stepped down, various coup leaders continue to wield power from the garrison town of Kati just outside Bamako.Amid continued political paralysis, and at the request of outside pressures (notably the Why elections are important now is unclear. But few think elections are an immediate priority. He has extended family in the north and thinks the July vote favors entrenched political parties that won't offer new ideas. But its politics are paralyzed. 1 2. "I sincerely doubt it," Atallah says. logged you out. It appears that civilians in Mali were largely spared from the fighting. Mali rose to the apogee of its power under Mansa Musa (1307–32?). The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an organization fighting to make this area of Mali an independent homeland for the Tua… The fingerprints of For some Malians, these are symbols of generosity and progress. The alliance between the two states had been an alliance of convenience. It later outgrew its political and military strength and by about 1550 ceased to be important as a political entity. But in the Malian context, you have a political class that is viewed as illegitimate ... that is part of how Mali got here in the first place. And now the French say they are mostly ready to draw down and leave.Mali's small but intense war began Jan. 11 after the rebels, who had controlled northern Mali for the better part of a year, launched an ambitious push to the south, taking towns and recording surprising victories along the way.The Malian government, its Army swept aside, asked the international community for help. Extreme poverty has dropped at the national level from 32% in 2001 to 22% in 2011, with clear regional variations.According to the most recent data made available by the World Bank, 77.1% of Malians lived under the international poverty line in 2006 (earning less than $2 per day). But can France and its African allies translate those victories into regional stability and peace?On paper, the French bid to oust Islamist rebels from northern The French drove out a mosaic of jihadi fighters and sustained only five casualties. What is their platform?" you are agreeing to our A French soldier stood guard in an armored vehicle in northern Mali in March. France last week launched air strikes against Islamist camps and mobile forces in Mali, its former colony, to stop a rebel offensive and "safeguard" Mali's existence. Your session to The Christian "France has been restricted in its operations to Mali's borders. "I certainly don't think the July date is feasible," says Bruce Whitehouse, an anthropologist at Professor Whitehouse says technical issues that existed before the coup, such as voter lists, are still unaddressed. If you have questions about your account, please Answer. Yet Mr. Atallah is skeptical of the view, offered by a French commander, that Al Qaeda's "neck has been broken" in the region.