Date: Apr 17, 2012 Author: AbdelAziz Karraky Source: Zawaya Magharebia Mali coup strengthens rogue groups Maghreb countries fight daily in the desert against networks operating in everything from drug smuggling to human trafficking.   Challenges will increase after the collapse of the Malian government, as various gangs will have access to more space and gain more ability to manoeuvre.   Maghreb countries have been deploying considerable efforts, to varying degrees, to fight terrorism. However, the collapse of Moamer Kadhafi’s regime – the sponsor of all types of terrorist movements – led to a wide proliferation of various weapons in the region and drove terrorists out of Libya towards the desert.   Mali was the first to suffer from the fall of the Libyan regime, as it witnessed the re-emergence of the Touareg issue. A separatist war broke out, worsened by the proliferation of Kadhafi’s weapons and the recent military coup that unleashed chaos and looting in Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world.   Maghreb states used to consider Mali a true partner in the fight against terrorism. Consequently, the collapse of the Malian regime will have several repercussions for the entire region.   After democratic values began spreading in the Maghreb, the idea of gaining power through violence is emerging again and might attract followers, if not in the army, then among extremist movements.   This hypothesis is supported by the easy access to weapons, the vast desert that is suitable for weapon training and the practice of guerrilla warfare.   Moreover, the illegal arms trade will flourish in this strategic region located near the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean and thus threaten international security.   The Malian coup will cast a shadow on the region and affect the emerging changes in the Maghreb after the Arab Spring, like the breakthrough in Algerian-Moroccan relations as the two sides try to develop their ties, long-paralysed by the presence of the Polisario.   However, the Polisario will gain more power after the Malian coup, especially considering some international reports claim its involvement in kidnapping European nationals and handing them to terrorist organisations that demand ransoms for their release; not to mention the fact many Polisario fighters had joined Kadhafi’s battalions.   Al-Qaeda is also benefiting from the Malian coup, as it transferred some of its bases from Pakistan and Afghanistan to the region, in order to take advantage of the area’s suitable terrain and climate for its activities.   The terror group will benefit even more from the weakness of the political authority in Mali. In fact, after Maghreb countries helped trap AQIM in the desert, the coup will guarantee, albeit temporarily, that al-Qaeda will not be targeted from the south, which will make it focus more on the north.