Rebels in Darfur and Kordofan threaten to further break up the Sudanese state.
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Sudanese President Omar al Bashir at the inauguration of the Hadida oil field in December 2012
The foreign troop presence in Mali will change as the intervention there enters a new phase.
The Seleka rebels will not have the ability or the interest to govern far outside the capital.
Mali's military junta needs legitimacy as France transfers security responsibility to African forces.
An important militant group has announced that it will split.
The recent attack in Algeria raises the question of whether the wider region could see similar incidents.
The African intervention force is getting ready to secure the north.
The coming of shale gas will magnify the importance of geography.
The junta in Bamako, hoping to avoid being swept aside, overthrew the prime minister Dec. 11.
