Exactly one week after Paris comes Bamako. The terrorist attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in the Malian capital on Friday, which killed at least 20 people, shows that once again jihadist extremism can strike anytime, anywhere and at anyone.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its offshoot Al-Mourabitoun said they carried out this latest attack. These obscure Saharan jihadist groups allied to Al-Qaeda are a reminder that while Mali still faces an insurgency, the world is currently facing a global terrorist threat. Al-Mourabitoun said the attack was carried out in retaliation for government aggression in northern Mali, and also demanded the release of prisoners in France. So France is once again thrust in the middle of a terrorist operation. France, the former colonial power in Mali, intervened in the country in January 2013 when Al-Qaeda-linked militants threatened to march on Bamako after taking control of the north of the country which was in a chaotic situation after a military coup in March 2012. The French intervention in northern Mali succeeded in repulsing the jihadists, who retreated across the country’s borders to fight another day. That day came Friday. Though military pressure largely drove Islamist militants from cities, they have regrouped in the desert areas.
Mali is a large, poor country with porous borders and large areas of ungoverned space where jihadist groups have been able to hide and plan attacks. The remoteness of border areas, where tribal authority has always clashed with central government, has proved attractive to such groups on more than one continent. Once they put down roots, they may emerge as a kind of parallel state, or surrogate authority, developing clout over the local population. What helps them is that more often than not the inhabitants of the peripheries of a state tend to harbor long-term grievances borne out of the neglect of their areas by central government.
Mali has not been helped by the ease with which weapons can come across from Libya, nor by the proximity of a murderous insurgency in Nigeria where Boko Haram reportedly killed more people last year than Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) did in Syria and Iraq combined.
The Mali attack came as the hotel hosted diplomatic delegations working on a peace process in the country. Any such plan should be made up of a pledge of continued international military support. But to defeat terrorism in the long term Mali will also need secure borders, good governance and more economic opportunities for young Malians.
The attack came just a day after French President Francois Hollande praised his troops for successfully fighting terrorism in the former French colony. It also comes a week after France suffered its own high-profile terror attack claimed by Daesh which killed 130 people in and near Paris.
France is but one example of how terrorism is deeply affecting countries. Brussels is now at its highest terror alert level, citing a serious and imminent threat. Belgium, and especially Brussels, which has been at the center of investigations into the militants behind the Paris attacks, will now be virtually shut down.
The Paris attacks last week, deadly bombings in Lebanon this month, the downing of a Russian passenger plane last month, the recent attacks in Sousse in Tunisia and Ankara in Turkey, all the work of Daesh, has resulted in the UN Security Council unanimously adopting Resolution 2249 to redouble action against Daesh. The French-drafted document urges UN members to "take all necessary measures" in the fight against Daesh.
Terrorists are keeping themselves in the news, reminding all that the next attack could be just around the corner. The world over, governments are on high alert and people are becoming jittery. This is becoming the new normal.
