French troops are expected to begin their withdrawal from Mali in late April Mauritanian authorities have arrested Azawadian rebels chief AG Ambie, Malian sources have claimed.The fugitive, who escaped from Mali, is accused of being the mastermind behind the Azawad rebels' offensive against the Malian army on March 20.
Mauritanian authorities are yet to confirm Ambie's capture, but Mali's Defence Minister Yamoussa Camara told reporters on Tuesday that he had been detained by Mauritanian security forces.
The arrest of the Azawadian militant has led some observers to predict that the war will continue even after the withdrawal of French troops.
Abdel Moumen Bocoum from the Mali Observatory for Security Issues and Human Rights (MOSIHR) believes that the armed groups would regain control of northern Mali once the French troops have withdrawn.
Fighting in the historic northern Mali town of Timbuktu has intensified after seven people, including five militants, a Malian soldier and a civilian were killed in a suicide bombing over the weekend.
Bocoum, an expert on Mali, said that armed groups had been successful in garnering support among local populations, against the French and Malian troops.
He claimed that the growing influence of these groups was clear through the militants' large operations in Gao and Timbuktu, cities which are under the control of French and Malian forces.
Bocoum said he had been surprised at France's decision to withdraw from northern Mali without completing the mission to set the region free of armed groups, adding he feared that the Malian army and African troops would struggle to drive out the armed groups.
The French troops intervened militarily in northern Mali last January to help the Malian army eliminate the armed movements in the region. The 4000 French soldiers currently deployed across northern Mali are scheduled to begin their withdrawal later this month.