Members of Islamist Armed group in Mali in 2012. The growing presence of armed Islamist groups allied to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) is linked to insecurity in neighboring Mali, where northern regions fell to separatist Tuareg and Al-Qaeda-linked armed groups in 2012.
© 2012 ROMARIC OLLO HIEN/AFP/Getty Images