By Bakari Gueye, 28 August 2013

Nouakchott — Hundreds of young Malians on Sunday (August 25th) took to the streets to demonstrate their anger at the return of some former jihadists to Gao.

„People of the north are still shaken by fear and they will never forget what they have experienced with the Islamists. So, their reaction is quite understandable, especially since we just heard about the merger of MUJAO and Belmokhtar’s gang,“ Gao teacher Habib Sidibé said.

„This return triggers serious concerns within a traumatised population due to nearly a year of reign by terror groups,“ Malian journalist Ibou Samaké said.

He added that the people of Gao would „never forget the serious abuses sustained by their kin because of the application of Sharia law“.

„The people of Gao are very wary of the return of those brothers who took up arms against them. They do not trust these Malians who fought in the ranks of the ‚enlightened‘, against their country,“ Journal du Mali reporter Augustin Fodou said.