Mali's Timbuktu fears jihadis as France reduces troops

Many residents of Timbuktu are worried that when French troops pull out of the city in northern Mali, jihadis will return to impose strict Shariah law including public whippings and amputations

TIMBUKTU, Mali -- It’s been nine years since Islamic extremists in northern Mali arrested Zahra Abdou on charges of showing her hair and wearing an outfit they said was too tight.

The al-Qaida-linked militants who had seized control of this fabled desert center in 2012 whipped Abdou in front of a throng of people in her neighborhood. Older women tried to stop the flogging but were prevented by the extremists.

“I received dozens of lashes in front of a large crowd and because of the pain I passed out," she recalled. “It was a total humiliation for me. For a long time, I felt ashamed in front of the people of my neighborhood.”

The trauma still torments her, she says. Her anxiety has increased since France announced in July that it will halve its 5,000 troops in Mali by 2022. After years of leading the fight against jihadis in Mali’s north, the French military will close its bases in Timbuktu and other northern centers.