Publication

France’s military intervention in the campaign in Mali is connected to the January 2012 hostage attack in southern Algeria by the Masked Battalion. The brief argues that France's intervention might be counter-productive. Likewise, it remains to be seen whether Algeria’s tough stance toward the terrorist attack will prevent similar incidents in the future, or whether it will open a Pandora’s box in the region that could spill over into Europe and result in reprisals by al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and its partners.