Latest News from Mali

I got most of this from an article in the Church Times, which is mainly interested in the religious aspect of the conflict. It seems that there are two main Tuareg rebel groups, one of which wishes to impose sharia law, and another that says it only wants to recover land for the benefit of its people. The religious group has been destroying bars, and a night club, and wants women in the areas it controls to wear veils.
Meanwhile, the President of Mali was deposed in an army coup - and while the army were busy doing that, the Tuaregs took more land in the north of the country, including Timbuktu. Most of the Christians in Timbuktu (and there were only about 300 of them) have fled. "And they are right," said the Mayor. "I cannot guarantee their safety. And these are people that have lived side by side with us for centuries."

Aid agencies are warning of food shortages, and the UN has called for one billion dollars to address the food crisis in the Sahel region - Mali is part of this region. There are also power cuts, and a shortage of clean water.