A group called the “al-Sahel Media Center” announced its creation, saying it will serve as the “podium of jihad and the mujahideen in Azawad and Mali.” ECOWAS and the African Union are trying to get help from the UN and the European Union so that a rapid response standby force with “lift capacity” can be formed. Nearly two years after Islamists seized much of northern Mali, there are still 217,811 displaced persons in the country and another 167,000 in refugee camps in neighboring countries.
