French soldiers in Mali arrest a 58-year-old Frenchman who is suspected of being a member of al-Qaeda in the Islamic …
Conflict
Jihadi Strike in Timbuktu Reflects Altered Terrorism Threat in Mali
As France prepares its military departure from Mali, a March 31 strike by militants in Timbuktu indicates how jihadi forces aren’t giving up — just reverting to previous practice
France May Aid Syrian Rebels Unilaterally If EU Doesn’t Lift Arms Embargo
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said March 14 Paris may begin supplying arms to anti-Assad rebels if partners don’t respond to a Franco-British appeal to lift the embargo.
Did U.S. Special Forces Commit Atrocities in a Key Afghan Province?
The Karzai government has decreed that the American commandos cease operations in Wardak. But it isn’t quite clear what exactly happened there—and who is being accused.
The War in Mali: Does France Have an Exit Strategy?
French officials say advances against Islamist militias in Mali may permit France to begin gradual troop withdrawal in March, as soldiers from African nations assume the lead role in battling the jihadi threat
French Family’s Cameroon Kidnapping Stokes Fears of a Pan-African Islamist War
The Feb. 19 kidnapping of a French family in Cameroon by suspected Islamist radicals raises fears of growing cross-boarder operations by African jihadi groups and the use of abduction as a tactic to counter France’s Mali intervention
The Art of War: Syria’s Artists Find Pain and Fame on the Front Lines
Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss projected onto a bullet-pocked wall in Damascus. Goya’s iconic execution squad from Third of May 1808 superimposed onto a bombed-out alley. Matisse’s nudes from The Dance skipping over rubble. When …
France’s Next Move: With Mali’s Islamists on the Run, Time to Talk to the Tuaregs
With France preparing to hand its anti-Islamist intervention in Mali to forces from neighboring states, Paris now encourages Malian leaders to negotiate with Tuareg rebels who teamed up with Islamists to dominate the north.
Mali’s War: After Surging Into the Islamist-Held North, Will France Retreat?
Franco-Malian offensive frees Timbuktu as the last major Mali town held by jihadi militias, but French moves handing over campaign against al-Qaeda allies in Mali to African forces raise doubts about future success.
War in Mali: France and African Allies Take on Islamist Militants
In March 2012, separatist rebels and Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda exploited the political chaos following a coup in Mali and overran half of the northwest African country. Nine months later, after dawdling in the capital …
France Celebrates Return of Convicted Kidnapper From Mexican Prison
Mexico’s Supreme Court frees Florence Cassez after seven years in prison for a 2007 kidnapping conviction that justices ruled was flawed by rights violations. Could that be the start of deep judicial reform in Mexico?
Westerners Kidnapped in North Africa — but Is France the Real Target?
Less than a week into France’s military intervention against Islamist militias in Mali, evidence builds confirming French concerns that their country has become the main focus of jihadi terrorist activity
Where Does France’s Unmarried President Really Stand on Same-Sex Marriage?
A demonstration drawing perhaps 800,000 showed mounting opposition to draft law granting marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples–and highlights wide ambivalence some claim Socialist President François Hollande shares.
