The alliance of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Jordan and the western powers has in its sights the taking out of Syria as a key ally of Iran, and with it Hezbollah in Lebanon
The reality is that opposition militias and the official army have reached a military stalemate – one step forward and one step back as progress on one front is checked by loss and retreat on another.
Côte d’Ivoire’s recent turbulence – including the ouster of president Henri Konan Bédié in 1999, a long-running insurgency and deadly poll unrest in 2011 – has left the country awash in arms, which have contributed to human rights abuses, widespread crime and persistent insecurity.
Wounds of 1982 Falklands war, ordered by late UK PM and which cost many Argentinian lives, still linger.
Hundreds of northern Malians have been detained by the Malian army since the French military intervention to oust Islamist groups began in January, with many prisoners complaining of suffering torture and abuse and their ill-treatment allegedly proving fatal on two occasions.