One report from The Telegraph sets the scene. After rebels from the local Tourag tribe swept out of the desert and captured Timbuktu, the city’s conquerors broadcast a message over its radio station. “We are going to welcome some foreigners. Do not be afraid when you see them: we must all welcome them.” When the troops arrived they were not more Tourags, but rather, as The Telegraph reports,

bearded fighters clad in sand-coloured turbans and robes . . . international jihadists from across the Muslim world including Algerians, Nigerians, Somalis and Pakistanis.

Showing that they give not a single toss for the history of Islam,  Ansar Dine destroyed destroyed two tombs in the city’s oldest and biggest mosque, Djingereyber. Last week they similarly destroyed seven tombs of ancient Muslim saints as well as the sacred door of another 15th century mosque, all listed as endangered World Heritage sites by Unesco. Members of Timbuktu’s Arab community said on Wednesday they have set up an armed brigade to prevent further destruction of the tombs.

Mali’s army could do little to prevent the takeover. After the downfall of Colonel Gaddafi, Libya’s military stockpiles were thrown open to all who could pay, turning the country into one huge military supermarket. Both AQIM and the Tuareg rebels from northern Mali took advantage of the deals on offer, and soon outgunned the army.

Gaddafi had also recruited thousands of soldiers from Mali; one brigade of the old Libyan army consisted almost entirely of Tuaregs. When the war ended the battle hardened soldiers returned home bringing their weapons with them. They have become the backbone of AQIM and the Tuareg rebellion.

So as Britain and France were donning their superhero capes and toppling Gaddafi, they were also clearing the way for al-Qaeda to take control of a large chunk of the Sahara. While you may think that ‘it’s just desert so let them have it’, the area  lies across a trans-Saharan smuggling route employed to run cocaine to Europe which allows the movement to profit from drug smuggling. These profits can be used to turn the area into an even more effective training area. The Telegraph quotes one diplomat as saying “this could ultimately be the base to attack Europe”.

To make matters worse, in Mali there isn’t anyone to stop them. There army is in a dismal state, and their government is even worse.  Mali’s official government has collapsed. A military coup toppled President Amadou Toumani Touré in March. An interim leader, appointed to supervise new elections, was then left for dead by a mob that raided his office. He now lies in a hospital bed in France, leaving no one in charge in the capital, Bamako. Not ideal.

[Source: The Telegraph]