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The article looks at the military conflict in Mali, as of March 2013, focusing on U.S. participation in the effort being undertaken by the Malian government, along with military forces from France and Chad, to halt the insurgency in which the terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is playing a role. It reports the U.S. is providing intelligence drawn from drone flights which is being used to target attacks on AQIM leaders.

The article discusses an assault on Gao, Mali by Islamist militants on February 21, 2013, focusing on the possibility that arms from Libya may have been accessed by militant groups with connections to the al Qaeda terrorist organization. Topics include the French military's intention to leave Mali and efforts to secure weapons stockpiles.

The article reports that the U.S. has reached a status-of-forces agreement with Niger that will increase U.S. military involvement in the conflict in Mali. Under the agreement, the U.S. will work with France to create an intelligence station in Niger designed to monitor militants in Mali with connections to the terrorist organization al Qaeda. Information is also provided on the proposed use of armed and unarmed U.S. drone aircraft in Mali.

The article explores the shortcomings of French military intervention against Islamic extremists in northern Mali in 2013. Topics include why France is disappointed with the U.S. government's seeming lack of support for their efforts against terrorist group al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), why many countries in the European Union are economically unable to support military action in Mali, and a discussion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) reluctance to join the campaign.

The article reports that the French government is reordering the soldiers it has deployed to Western Africa as of July 2014, broadening the scope of their counterterrorism mission in Mali against jihadist and separatist groups that threaten Mali and provide safe harbor to terrorists.

The article focuses on efforts by the French military to find and destroy weapons and munitions buried in desert dunes in northern Mali that militants hid when they were driven out by French soldiers in January 2013, and mentions 220 tons of ammunition and thousands of weapons have been uncovered.

The article looks at Islamist insurgents in north Africa and the Sahel region, reporting that militants pushed out of northern Mali by Malian and French forces in early 2013 have moved to other countries, including Libya and Niger, and citing two May 2013 Islamist attacks in Niger.

The article looks at the Tuareg and Islamist insurgency in northern Mali as of April 2013, reporting the United Nations (U.N.) has decided to send a peacekeeping force to the country and citing France's invention force which has been in the country since early 2013.

The article offers world news briefs as of April 10, 2013, including a mass shooting in Velika Ivanca, Serbia, two deaths from the avian flu strain H7N9 in China, and the eating of a camel that had been given by Malians to French President François Hollande.

The article offers world news briefs as of March 8, 2013, on topics including China's trade surplus, the capture of United Nations (U.N.) peacekeepers in Syria, and the possible killing of two Islamist militant leaders in Mali by Chadian soldiers.

The article looks at the 2013 French military intervention in Mali, reporting the government of French President François Hollande has announced plans to withdraw some French troops from the country beginning in April 2013.

The article reports that the government of Chad announced on March 1, 2013 that its forces fighting in Mali had killed Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, a leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization in the Sahara, and provides information about Zeid's activities and his reputation as a hostage-taker.

The author presents a personal narrative of accompanying a French army regiment that is fighting rebels in Mali, with a particular emphasis on a conversation she had with a military officer identified as Captain Benoit.

The article discusses complications presented to efforts by French and Malian forces to evict Islamist rebels from Mali by the divided loyalties of the Tuareg ethnic group, whose members can be found on either side of the fight, and which is riven by internal feuds.

The article looks at comments from Malian musicians Rokia Traoré, Ballaké Sissoko, and Fatoumata Diawara in which they discussed the role of music in Malian culture and history, with particular focus given to the foreign intervention in 2013 against Islamist terrorists.

The article reports that French and Malian military forces have regained control of the city of Gao, Mali from radical Islamic militants and provides comments on the situation by French President François Hollande and Malian Lieutenant Colonel Salihou Maiga.

The article provides information on February 2013 attacks led by Islamist militant groups, such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which included gunfights and suicide bombings against French and Malian forces in the city of Gao, Mali.

The article updates the situation in Mali where military forces led by France are fighting Islamist militants, and discusses a pair of incidents on February 8, 2013 including a a suicide-bombing attack on Malian soldiers, and the death of a civilian after being fired upon by government forces.

The article discusses plans to reduce the French military presence in Mali and give more responsibility to African armed forces after operations against Islamist militants connected to the terrorist organization al Qaeda took control from the insurgents.

The article discusses France's military action against Islamist militants in Mali, stating that fighter jets and special forces were used against those connected to the terrorist organization al Qaeda while the French government requested African countries deploy troops to Malian cities.

The article examines the South African government's reaction to political violence in Mali, noting that its support of French military intervention contrasts its typical policies of refusing international assistance in African matters

The article reports that French armed forces took control of the Malian city of Kidal and its airport without resistance from Islamist militants who had controlled the areas since April 2012.

The article reports that by January 28, 2013 French and Malian armed forces were able to clear members of the terrorist organization al Qaeda out of the city of Timbuktu, Mali, which had been held by al Qaeda for the previous 10 months.

The author discusses the status of France's military preparations in its campaign in Mali to prevent terrorist groups from forming in Northern Africa, noting France's investment in fighter jets, nuclear submarines, and armored vehicles and comparing it with its lack of usable intelligence.

The article discusses the French military leadership in Mali in an attempt to dislodge terrorists backed by the international terrorist organization Al Qaeda from the North of Mali, noting the shift in battlefield strategy from a U.S.-led offensive to one led by France.

The article reports that French and Malian armed forces were able to force Islamic militants from the terrorist organization al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) out of the town of Diabaly, Mali on January 21, 2013.

The article discusses fighting in Mali between government forces and Islamist rebels, and reports that the U.S. has agreed to provide transport planes for French troops and equipment that have been deployed to Mali, and that the European Union has approved a training mission for Mali's army.