Deadly Tuareg offensive in Mali

BAMAKO: Al-Qaeda-linked fighters gathered reinforcements in the tense Gao region of northeastern Mali yesterday and waited to see if the Tuareg rebels that launched a failed offensive a day earlier would regroup for a fresh assault.
Though the dusty town of Gao and its surroundings were initially under the control of Tuaregs, who are fighting to establish an independent state, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) ousted them at the end of June.
On Friday, Tuaregs with the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) attacked the MUJAO fighters but suffered a heavy defeat that saw about a dozen of their men killed, regional security sources said.
To prepare for a possible new offensive, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) sent about 300 reinforcements from Timbuktu.