| Main centres: | 1-3 business days |
| Regional areas: | 3-4 business days |
| Remote areas: | 3-5 business days |
Al Qaeda in theIslamic Maghreb: Shadow of Terror over The Sahel, from 2007 by AlJ Venter (RARE, EXCELLENT)
Insurgencies in Iraq,Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere the majority linked to al Qaeda arein the news on an almost daily basis. But very little surfaces about afestering insurgency that has been on the go for six years in West Africa underthe acronym of AQIM, or al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. This low-level seriesof guerrilla conflicts is widespread and sporadic, covering an area as vast asEurope. Nigeria has been drawn into the equation because its Boko Haraminsurgent faction maintains close ties with AQIM and Islamic State.
For now though, the focus is on Mali where severaljihadist groups despite formal peace agreements remain active. Involved isthe French army and air force as well as the United Nations MultidimensionalIntegrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the European Union TrainingMission in Mali (EUTM) as well as the European Union Capacity Building Mission(EUCAP).
The insurrection that fostered all this broke outearly 2012 when President François Hollande announced the beginning ofOperation Serval. Five hours later the first squadrons of French Gazellehelicopter gunships began attacking Islamist columns. A day later French fighterjets based in Chad, almost 2,000 kilometers away, were making sorties againstrebel ground targets in northern Mali.
