Elsewhere in the region, kidnapping for ransom has generated huge funds for militant groups such as al-Qaida in the Maghreb.

But north and central Mali remain unstable, and attacks by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and allied groups against peacekeepers and security forces are common.

Timbuktu fell initially to Tuareg rebels, part of a coalition of factions backed by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.