[UNVERIFIED CONTENT] Members of the Ganda Izo militia at a makeshift military base south a few kilometres south of Mopti, just within government territory in central Mali, Novebmer 18, 2012. The volunteer militias were drawn mostly along ethnic lines, recruiting mainly black men, eager to avenge the rebellion which seized control of the north of the country. The rebellion was led by fair skinned ethnic Tuaregs, under the banner of a separatist Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) but it was quickly usurped by groups of Islamist fighters, the Movement for Jihad and Unity in West Africa (MUJAO or MOJWA), Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM or AQMI) and Ansar Dine, which means Defenders of Faith. The Ganda Izo had no guns on show, and military officials were unclear on what role they might play in any future operations.
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Moment Jerome Starkey