AQIM Reinforces Its Defenses in Mali

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb proxy fighters occupied the Malian town of Lere, southwest of Timbuktu, on Nov. 28, pushing out secular Tuareg fighters from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, known as the MNLA. The same day, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon announced his support for an African-led military intervention force to recover central government control of northern Mali. While AQIM is no match for a conventional military force, its ability to transform itself into a guerrilla threat and disrupt longer-term peace complicates Malian political and military planning, as does the possibility of regional spillover.