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| - Mali, which has been gripped by months of protests and political crisis, is one of the world's poorest countries and has struggling to quell a jihadist insurgency. Modern Mali is the biggest country in West Africa and one of the poorest on the continent, with more than 40 percent of its population of 20 million living in extreme poverty. But it also boasts desert cities of exotic legend and a long imperial history. The mainly arid nation, partly irrigated by the Niger River, became the hub of the Ghana empire for more than five centuries from around 700 AD, while Islam spread into the region. The empire drew on trans-Saharan trade for its wealth. In the north where Mali juts deep into the Sahara, the city of Timbuktu grew into a centre of glittering scholarship, of learned scribes and cultural exchange just as it became an important post for traders in gold, salt and slaves. By the 14th century, the Malian empire was firmly established, stretching from deep inland to the coasts of West Africa, while camels introduced to the region as beasts of burden had become commonplace. When Mansa Musa, who was emperor in the early 1300s, decided to make a long pilgrimage to Mecca, he reputedly travelled with 60,000 men, 12,000 slaves and 80 camels loaded up with gold. Mansa Musa is also said to have handed out so much gold during his trip that it caused inflation in the places he passed through. Every Friday, he ordered a mosque to be built. The country is now the largest cotton producer in sub-Saharan Africa and the world's fourth largest exporter of gold. It is also a major producer of cashew nuts. From time immemorial, Tuareg tribes, one of Mali's around 20 ethnic groups, have been nomads in the Sahara. Some of them have more recently pushed for independence from Mali's central government for the northern region they name Azawad. Modern insurgencies date back about a century to the era of French colonial rule, which ended in 1960, so that successive regimes in the capital Bamako cut deals to keep the peace. Tuaregs of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) rose up in earnest in 2012 and were joined by the Islamic extremists of Ansar Dine, who piggy-backed the rebellion in an uneasy alliance. The insurgents took the three main northern towns of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu, leading to global concern for the fate of scores of thousands of historical manuscripts safeguarded by citizens of Timbuktu. The rebels did destroy many texts before leaving the oasis, but it soon emerged that most manuscripts had been kept hidden. In January 2013, France intervened militarily to help recapture the north from the Islamists. The MNLA and Ansar Dine were driven out of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal. But armed groups remain active in the north, carrying out guerilla attacks, while conflict has spread to central Mali. The UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA was deployed in Mali in 2013, its mandate extended until June 30, 2021. The government signed a peace deal with several armed groups in 2015, but its implementation has dragged on for years despite international pressure. In 2017 a regional special anti-jihadist force, the G5 Sahel, deployed in Mali, as well as Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, and Niger. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed in the conflict to date, and hundreds of thousands have had to flee their homes. acm-eab/jmy/dl
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