http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19699590
The purpose of this is to hopefully weaken the control radical Islamists have in north Mali, which was captured in April. This action is not favored by neighboring countries, such as Algeria, but the action has already been approved to be put into action. Sharia law is already present in most of the Northern Mali cities, so the potential for this movement to create a war is present.
