Al Qaeda in Mali: Heaven on Earth it is not...

Al Gore's New Business Partner Al Jazeera describes
al Qaeda here as "gentle"

The new hot bed for Al Qaeda is in Mali:

Radical Islamists have turned northern Mali into an enclave for Qaeda militants and for the imposition of harsh Shariah law, which has been used to terrorize the population, particularly women, with amputations, stonings, whippings and other abuses. 

The Qaeda North Africa affiliate is now considered one of the best armed and wealthiest of the Qaeda franchises across the world, largely because of millions of dollars gained in kidnapping ransoms, drug proceeds and illicit trafficking in fuel and tobacco, General Ham said.

Al Qaeda controls an area in Northern Mali about the size of Texas.  They are well funded, stockpiled with weapons taken from Libya, prepared to fight, and spreading problems to countries around them.

Update:
Mali Jihadi Islamist Rebels still advancing, despite French airstrikes...
When Al Qaeda takes control:  The War on Architecture
Liberated Mali town tells of horrors of Al Qaeda
A Time of Revenge in Timbuktu...