Recently,AMISOM has begun taking a more active role in the conflict, patrolling far beyond their bases, and at one point, fighting alongside government forces.
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"Belmokhtar likely wants to show he is still engaged in active operations and he is not moving away from the fighting - especially at a time when other Jihadists are in active combat against French troops in Mali, " he said.
It has been especially active in environmental cases, where lawyers are fighting a rearguard action on behalf of communities affected by environmental degradation, and in property-law disputes, where the vast expansion of home-ownership has caused many conflicts between the new owners and property developers or the state.
Ecuador countered by releasing what purports to be Reyes's diary, which implicates disgraced former aides of Mr Correa in accepting FARC money but not the president himself. (Colombia reckons the document is fabricated.) Until it gets active co-operation from all its neighbours in fighting the FARC and other drug traffickers, Colombia will conclude that it must rely on American support.