This can’t be good

Last week, Tuareg rebels launched an attack on an army camp in northeastern Mali, killing 32.

A several decade long Tuareg insurgency in Mali ended with a peace agreement in the early 1990s but tension appears to have resurfaced.

Reuters noted: The Malian Tuareg rebels and the Tuareg-led rebel Niger Justice Movement (MNJ) in neighbouring Niger have in the past denied any formal alliance. But Malian and Niger security officials believe they sometimes work together.

Militia activity in northern Mali

Foreign diplomats are noting with increasing concern the deteriorating security situation in the north of Mali. The region has seen a spate of attacks by armed militias.

The attacks have been met with indignation in the rest of the country, with citizens wondering why security forces aren't able to get ahold of the situation.

Mali and Niger were rocked by Touareg rebel movements from 1990 until peace deals were signed in 1995. Touareg groups span the border region, which has largely been at peace since the peace agreements until this year when a Touareg-dominated group in northern Niger, the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ), began attacking civilians and the army in northern Niger and laid landmines there. The MNJ has reportedly denied it is linked to the militias responsible for the attacks in Mali.