The crisis in Mali: current military action and upholding humanitarian law

Mali has been in crisis since March 2012, when the military overthrew the government of Amadou Toumani Touré. Within weeks of the coup, a coalition of separatist Tuareg rebels and militant Islamist armed groups with links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb pushed the national army out of the north of the country. The coalition split up quickly, leaving the militant Islamists largely in control. A weak and ineffective transitional government has been in existence in the south of the country since April but the north remained beyond its control. In late 2012, it was agreed to create a military intervention force, under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which would attempt to retake the north, but it was not expected to be battle-ready until September 2013. At the same time, political negotiations began to try and draw parts of the rebel coalition into a political process. However, on 9 January 2013, a sudden military push southwards by rebels appeared to open up the possibility that the entire country might fall to them in the near future. This provoked an urgent French military intervention from 11 January onwards to stop the rebel advance and, indeed, roll it back. This is being achieved. However, the rebels are re-grouping and will turn to insurgency.

Concerns are being raised about the need for French and Malian forces to uphold humanitarian and human rights law during the current military operation in Mali. Malian forces have been accused of serious human rights abuses. As the ECOWAS force, known as AFISMA, assembles and deploys, these concerns will extend to it as well. The agreed EU training mission that has been agreed, along with the UK training initiative for Anglophone troops involved, will need to respond to such concerns. The UK is not currently in a combat role in Mali, although some worry about gradual ‘mission creep’.