Mali on Brink of Becoming a Terrorist Safe Haven

December 24, 2012

African and world leaders say they will not let Mali become a terrorist safe haven, a failed state, a so-called "Afghanistan" in the Sahel. The U.N. Security Council has backed a regional military deployment to Mali next year to deal with an ongoing political crisis in the capital and help the Malian army retake the north from Islamist militants. Will 2013 be the year that Mali pulls back from the brink? If so, at what cost?

2012 was the year that armed men seized control of Mali. And their grip looks stronger than ever -- both in the north and the south.

Analysts say a military junta pulls the strings in the capital, Bamako. The soldiers, who mutinied and then overthrew the elected president on March 22, closed the year by forcing out the interim prime minister and his government in December.

Meanwhile, al-Qaida-linked Islamist militants have controlled the northern two-thirds of the country since April. Their brutal application of Sharia law has included stonings and amputations. Nearly half a million people have fled. That number could swell by tens, or even hundreds, of thousands during expected fighting next year.

African leaders now have U.N. backing for a phased military intervention to send in 3,300 regional troops to retrain and ultimately fight alongside the Malian army.

African Union ambassador Antonio Tete told the U.N. Security Council the deployment is an integral part of a three-track plan that includes negotiations and reinforcing the political transition in Bamako.