New sources suggest that the Islamist push into southern Mali in January was to help trigger a putsch in Bamako by Tuareg military forces led by Captain Amadou Sanogo who changed sides when French forces intervened. This week, Sanogo was named to a military review board by Malian President Dioncounda Traore in order to separate him from Tuareg troops. There was to be a general partition of the country by the jihadist group Ansar Eddine in the north and Taureg forces in the south. If the Taureg overthrow of Tarore had been successful it would have prevented UN approved intervention by West African states. French intervention seems to have made the Taureg forces change direction and help the government in Bamako for now.
Meanwhile, troops from the Economic Community of West African States have been asking Malian civilians to supply them with food. Over seven thousand troops from Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and others have been pledged for the operation. It is hoped that these troops will gain UN recognition and financial backing to help stabilize the country after the French troops who led the attack against Ansar Eddine in January.
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