The next battlefield? Islamic militants have been ousted but Africa remains a potential haven for terrorists.

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: INTERNATIONAL

For almost 10 months starting last April, Islamic militants terrorized the people of northern Mali. In the fabled city of Timbuktu, they whipped women for failing to cover their faces in public. They hacked off the hands of those accused of stealing. They burned ancient manuscripts and destroyed ancient tombs. They banned music.

Their control of this vast desert region also provided a safe haven for extremist groups linked to Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible for the 9/11 attacks in 2001. One militant group, Al Mulathameen, attacked a gas facility in neighboring Algeria in January and killed 37 foreign workers, including three Americans. The attack served notice that northern Africa is becoming the next trouble spot for terrorists who threaten Western countries (see chart).

"Northern Mali is at risk of becoming a permanent haven for terrorists and organized criminal networks where people are subjected to a very strict interpretation of Sharia [Islamic] law and human rights are abused on a systematic basis," said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in December.

Even before the attack in Algeria, France--Mali's former colonial ruler--had decided to confront the Islamist threat Over a few weeks, French forces swooped into the cities and towns of northern Mal and ousted the Islamic militants. Resident: welcomed the French troops as heroes.

Though the militants have retreated to the desert, they continue to be a threat.

Timbuktu: Ancient Crossroads

For many in the West, Timbuktu has long been synonymous with the middle of nowhere, and the city's location, straddling North and West Africa on the southern edge of the Sahara desert, is indeed remote. But from the 11th through the 15th centuries the Malian empire was a powerful force in the region. Timbuktu thrived for centuries at the crossroads of the region's two great highways: the caravan route across the Sahara, which brought salt, spices, and cloth from the north; and the Niger River, which brought gold and slaves from West Africa.

Traders brought books, and the city's scribes copied them by hand. These valuable manuscripts cover a vast range of subjects--Islamic philosophy and law, medicine, botany, and astronomy.

In 1898, Mall became a French colony; it gained independence in 1960. For years, it was considered a democratic model. The situation began deteriorating in late 2011 after Libya's longtime dictator, Muammar el Qaddafi, was ousted. Weapons from the fighting...