While Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) claim to control the north of Mali—the vast stretch of the country beyond the Niger River—there is growing evidence that Islamist organizations have actually taken power in much of this territory. With the Islamist faction Ansar Dine still reported to be patrolling the streets of Timbuktu, the northern region's main city, a second such faction was reported April 8 to have stormed the Algerian consulate in Gao, some 200 miles across the desert to the west, abducting the consul and six members of his team. The Jamat Tawhid wal Jihad fi Garbi Afriqqiya—or Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) —claimed responsibility for the abduction in a statement sent to AFP, saying it "will be making its demands known."

The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the Tuareg rebel army which has seized control of Mali's north, declared the independence April 6 of what it called the Azawad nation. "We, the people of the Azawad," the statement reads, "proclaim the irrevocable independence of the state of the Azawad starting from this day..." The military chiefs of 13 of Mali's neighbors met one day earlier in Ivory Coast to hash out plans for a military intervention to push back the MNLA. France said it will offer logistical support for the intervention. The European Union followed Paris' lead in announcing it will not recognize the new state. The intervention pact comes with a move to recognize Mali's besieged military junta. The junta and the West African bloc ECOWAS announced a deal that includes the lifting of sanctions and an amnesty for those involved in last month's coup. (AFP, April 7; AP, April 6)

Libya's National Transitional Council on April 5 refused a request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hand over Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of former leader Moammar Qaddafi. Libyan officials have stated they will keep Saif al-Islam prisoner and he will stand trial within the country. This decision comes after the ICC ruled this week that Saif al-Islam must be handed over to the court, marking a departure from previous statements that Saif al-Islam could remain in Libya and be tried there. These statements were met with protest from human rights organizations that believed it would be almost impossible for Saif al-Islam to receive a fair trial in Libya. One of the big differences between the ICC and Libya is the possible sentence imposed if Saif al-Islam is found guilty—he faces the death penalty if found guilty in Libyan court, but only a prison term if convicted by the ICC. The ICC still claims jurisdiction over Saif al-Islam because it issued a warrant for his arrest last June.

A day after Mali's northern city of Timbuktu fell to Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), it is now reported that Ansar Dine, an Islamist faction that had been cooperating with the rebels, has seized control there, raising its black flag at prominent points. Reports indicate a patchwork of loosely allied factions occupying the city, their ranks swelled by Tuareg and Arab defectors from Mali's army. Gao, the other major northern city, also fell to the rebels over the weekend. (See map) (AP, BBC News, April 2; RFI, April 1)

The head of Libya's Toubou people on March 30 called for international intervention after deadly clashes in the southern oasis town of Sabha. "We demand that the United Nations and European Union intervene to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Toubou," said Issa Abdel Majid Mansur, a former opposition activist under slain dictator Moammar Qaddafi. He accused Arab tribes in Sabha of bombarding a power station providing electricity to areas of southern Libya with a large Toubou population, including Qatrun and Morzuk. The first clashes erupted five days ago after Arab tribesmen accused the Toubou of killing one of their people. The first three days of fighting claimed more than 70 lives, and Zintan Arab militiamen from the north were sent in. A ceasefire was brokered March 28, although continuing clashes have since been reported. Mansur said his people are ready to revive the organization they had formed to oppose Qaddafi in order to fight for their rights in post-Qaddafi Libya—and raised the possibility of separatism. "We announce the reactivation of the Toubou Front for the Salvation of Libya to protect the Toubou people from ethnic cleansing," Mansur told AFP. "If necessary, we will demand international intervention and work towards the creation of a state, as in South Sudan." (AFP, Magharebia, March 30; AFP, March 27)

Presumed Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) on March 29 launched an attack on Mali's northern city of Kidal, using shell and rockets as well as small arms—and following through on a promise made in the wake of the coup d'etat a week earlier. During an interview with VOA's Francophone Africa service, MNLA second-in-command Karim ag Matafa said rebels plan to advance toward key cities of Kidal, Timbuktu, and Gao, and claim them as liberated territory. In Bamako, Mali's capital, thousands of junta supporters took to the streets on March 28, backing the military putsch that forced President Amadou Toumani Toure into hiding. Many of the marchers were apparently soldiers and veterans who felt Toure was ineffective in countering the Tuareg insurgency. Pro-junta protesters took over the city's main airstrip, forcing jets carrying West African presidents for a meeting with Mali's new military rulers to turn back mid-flight. Leaders of the regional body ECOWAS organized the trip to pressure the junta to restore constitutional rule. Junta leaders meanwhile announced on state TV that they have drafted a new constitution, and pledged to hold elections—although they did not announce a date. The new constitution supposedly bars coup leaders from running for elected office. (Daily Star, Lebanon, This Day Live, Nigeria, March 30; EuroNews, Jurist, March 29; VOA, March 23)

Amnesty International on Feb. 16 released a report ("Militias Threaten Hope for New Libya") accusing the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) in Libya of allowing the abuse and torture of supporters of former leader Moammar Qaddafi by unofficial militias. In the report, AI alleges that supporters of Qaddafi are being unlawfully detained, tortured and even killed by militias that the NTC has failed to control. The report was compiled by AI representatives who traveled to Libya in January and February and visited 11 facilities used to detain suspected Qaddafi loyalists. AI reported that 12 detainees have been killed while in the custody of these militias and described some of the abuse:

French Development Minister Henri de Raincourt, after a visit to Mali, charged that Tuareg guerillas of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) killed nearly 100 residents in their occupation of Aguelhok, one of several northern towns that have come under attack by the rebels. Raincourt said some of the victims had their throats slit, while others were shot in the head. "The execution method was similar to those used by al-Qaeda," he said, raising the specter of Tuareg collaboration with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Mali's army also accused the rebels of conducting summary executions and working with AQIM. MNLA spokesman Abdoul Karim ag-Matafa said those killed in Aguelhok were soldiers, not civilians.