Mali's March 22 coup precipitated the fall of the country's north to a mix of secular and Islamist rebels, who now control a desert region the size of France at the heart of the Sahara.

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France says its troops will start pulling out of Mali in March, and hand over control of the vast northern desert area to African forces.

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Yet there is speculation that it could be retaliation for France's recent intervention in Mali, where Islamist groups and members of al-Qaeda's North Africa branch - al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - had taken control of the country's vast northern desert region.

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