Timbuktu siege: Mali 'at risk of civil war'
Jihadist militants are once again targeting Mali's Timbuktu - but unlike a decade ago, when French and U.S. troops halted an insurgent advance, Mali's military junta now has limited options for support. - REUTERS
Transcript
00:00 It's been more than a decade since jihadist militants captured Mali's Timbuktu.
00:06 But the city, a centuries-old centre of Islamic learning, is again under siege, raising fears
00:13 that Mali is descending into chaos.
00:17 Al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgents began a blockade of Timbuktu in August, cutting road access
00:23 and shutting off river and air routes.
00:26 Then the bombing began.
00:28 On September 21st, witnesses said rockets hit a hospital, killing two children.
00:35 Timbuktu businessman Soritore says the shelling is what worries people most.
00:40 "This creates a real psychosis and leaves its mark on people's minds.
00:46 I, myself, have this fear inside me.
00:50 What's much more serious is the fact that it affects people's psychology."
00:56 Back in 2012, a Tuareg rebellion was overtaken by jihadists, who captured Timbuktu and pressed
01:02 south towards the capital, Bamako.
01:05 The advance was halted by French forces and United Nations peacekeepers.
01:10 But there will be no such intervention now.
01:14 Mali's military rulers have severed ties with France and kicked its troops out of the
01:17 country.
01:19 In June, it ordered the UN's 13,000-strong force to leave.
01:25 Since then, the al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM has launched its offensive in central Mali.
01:30 Fighting has resumed between the army and Tuareg rebels from the north.
01:34 Islamic State-allied insurgents have continued to carry out attacks in the east.
01:40 Russia's Wagner Group, which has sent 1,000 mercenaries to support the junta, has failed
01:45 to fill the gap.
01:46 "It's hard to see who might come to Mali's rescue this time."
01:52 Ulf Lessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad-Egnau Foundation, said there is
01:56 a risk of civil war.
01:58 "People are obviously in panic or getting worried.
02:02 Many are leaving.
02:03 And it might get worse because the UN, the peacekeeping force is still there, helping
02:10 a bit to achieve a bit of stability.
02:13 But once they're out, then violence might really spike."
02:20 More than 650 people have died in conflict in Mali in the two months after the UN began
02:25 its withdrawal.
02:26 That's a 40 percent rise over the previous two months, the US-based Armed Conflict Location
02:31 and Event Data Project said.
02:36 Mali's authorities, who consolidated power in coups in 2020 and 2021, did not respond
02:41 to specific requests for comment.
02:44 On Monday, however, the army released a statement describing September as a "turbulent month"
02:49 and said it would continue fighting its enemies.
02:53 After being confirmed as interim president in May 2021, coup leader Colonel Assimi Goita
02:59 had this to say.
03:01 "We had to choose between the stability of Mali and chaos, and we chose stability."
03:06 Instead, with the country internationally isolated, Mali now appears to be in meltdown.
03:14 And in a region already reeling from several military coups, the violence creates a further
03:19 risk of instability.
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