It has been three weeks since the beginning of French intervention in Mali. The largest northern towns have now been seized by the French Malian coalition. Today, a few questions emerge as to what happens next. In January 2012, the National Movement of Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an independence Touareg movement, launched an attack against…
Tinariwen have taken Saharan music to a whole new level over the past few decades. Their latest album Tassili slightly shifted towards a new direction. Here’s my verdict. How often do we listen to a song for the first time, either love it or hate at once, only to change our mind later on? Normally,…
In September, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) abducted seven employees of French uranium giants Areva in northern Niger. An ongoing debate has been centred on the possible implication of the local Touareg, and the actual link between AQIM and al-Qaeda, which has yet to be precisely established. It was the ideal moment for Osama…
The Sahara Desert is of strategic interest to many governments, both African and Western. The geostrategic position of the region has made it a central point throughout history, but recent events have brought it under the negative spotlight of the media. The Sahara is back in the headlines following the kidnapping of seven employees of…
Representing the new generation of Touareg rock called ishumar, “music of the unemployed”, Tamikrest is the noble heir of legend Tinariwen. Far from the Malian Sahara, where the members are from, they’ve landed in the West for their first tour outside the African continent. They’ve recently released their first album, Adagh, and what comes out…