[MAGHAREBIA] Residents in Zawia have been staging a protest in its main square, Martyrs Square, against the local council, the General National Congress and the government. Protestors claim that the council and Congress, in particular, are dominated by the Moslem Brüderbund.
Demonstrations were said to have been launched from several mosques in the town against the Moslem Brüderbund after Friday prayers yesterday, demanding changes in both bodies.
According to former Zawia Local Council member Abdulfattah Ammar, the protests started on Wednesday afternoon, after Dhuhur prayers with "hundreds of people" converging on the square. "There were young and old people at the protest from all walks of life with no political orientation demanding the GNC a change course," he stressed.
However,
some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go...
according to the head of Zawia Local Council, Mohammed Khathrawi, the protestors, who he said had been attending the funeral of one of the town's revolutionaries, were not against the Brotherhood. Rather they were calling for better performances by the council and government and changes in the GNC. Members of the council, he told the Libya Herald, had gone to the square to negotiate with them.
This latter is denied by Ammar who insists that the local council did not react to the protests nor did it enter into dialogue with the protesters.
The French are mobilising around 600 troops from the "Desert" joint tactical group, supported by Tiger and Gazelle attack helicopters.
The chief of staff of the French armed forces, Admiral Edouard Guillaud, was quoted by AFP as saying that the "disorganization of the terrorist networks" was a priority for the Serval troops.
"There are still areas where terrorist groups are gathering residually," one officer revealed. "We must explore them in depth in order to reduce their logistical potential by intercepting their supply chains."
According to analyst Daha Ould Sidi Ali, "the upsurge in activity on the part of terrorist groups in northern Mali proves that they are still there".
"Over the past few weeks, pick-up trucks laden with explosives, shells and large quantities of handguns and assault weapons have been discovered," he noted.
According to observers, the recent Tessalit attack means that the number of MINUSMA troops, currently at 6,000, urgently needs to be increased to more than 12,000 by the end of the year. Yet La Belle France plans to reduce the number of its soldiers from 3,000 to 1,000 by the end of January 2014.
Kadré Desiré Ouedraogo, the president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said Wednesday that the organization needed "to encourage the member states and other countries to respond to the call to reinforce MINUSMA".
Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie sadly admitted that he was a better peeping Tom than he was a comedian...
the inhabitants of northern Mali are exasperated at the return of violence. Myriam Toure, a trader in Gao, said: "The north has been ravaged and abandoned. What worries us the most is the weakness of the Malian state."
"What will happen to us if the foreign troops pull out? In any case, they are our only hope now. And because of all that, we don't feel safe at the moment and we're really losing sleep over this rise in the number of attacks," she told Magharebia.
Terrorism expert Sidati Ould Cheikh said: "In the current situation, it is clear that the central Malian authorities lack the means and the capacity to tackle the big security challenge single-handedly, so the international community must continue to provide support for some time to come"
"The international troops should double their efforts to eradicate these groups, which are completely unpredictable and very difficult to fight," he added.
Due to the deteriorating security situation in Mali and the region as a whole, the terrorist threat faced by Niger has become more serious. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Mali's Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), and Nigeria's Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
have also conducted operations in Niger.
Niger has been on high alert since June. After the attacks in Arlit and Agadez, the jihadists are now turning their attention to the capital. Confrontations have taken place in Niamey Prison.
Nigerien Justice Minister and government front man Marou Amadou said, "There needs to be a sense of responsibility, because Niger is now at war. We need there to be a sense of responsibility for our compatriots."
People in Niamey are living in fear. But there are signs that the country may turn the tide.
"In August, a broad-based national unity government was created in Niger by a Touareg prime minister, Brigi Rafini, at the behest of President Mahamadou Issoufou. The main task of this government is to resolve the problem of insecurity in the country with the jihadist threat and the kidnappings in the north of the country," Sidati Ould Cheikh said.
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[MAGHAREBIA] A big shot in the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), known as the "Butcher of Gao" for his harsh application of Sharia law, was tossed in the calaboose
[MAGHAREBIA] The recent capture of al-Qaeda operative Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie (aka Abu Anas al-Libi) in 
Zawahiri