Mali - elections as a way out of the crisis

The city of Gao on the River Niger is northern Mali's most important commercial hub. Goods are transported by boat and those destined for the town of Kidal are routed through Gao.

With the arrival of the rebel group, Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), life in Gao changed abruptly. "They destroyed everything," said Mamai, janitor at the local Catholic school. Only the building was left standing. Why did they do it? Mamai shrugs his shoulders. "They wanted to cause damage. I can't think of any other reason," he said.

The MNLA was soon forced to abandon any claim to authority over the city. The Tuareg rebels were defeated in combat by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) who converted the police station into their headquarters. The bullet holes are testimony to the intensity of the fighting.

Gao residents who broke Sharia law were locked up in the police station. This is where the Islamists imprisoned women. The more attractive women were taken to the first floor of the building where the MUJAO leadership had ensconced itself, locals said. Even six months after the liberation, everybody stays away from the old police station.

Faty Walett Mohamed misses her husband. The mother of six children doesn't know where he is. Every day she struggles to make ends meet. She doesn't want to leave Gao. "Things aren't any better elsewhere," she said. No figures for missing persons have been published.

It was the women who suffered the most. They were forced to veil themselves from head to toe and were hardly ever allowed to leave their homes. Many now work at the market or sell fruit and vegetables on the street.

The MUJAO did not demolish the Tomb of Aksia, which is a World Heritage Site. When MUJAO entered the city, there were fears that they would destroy it. The militant Islamists said "Muslims in Gao do not glorify buildings as they do in Timbuktu. Therefore we will leave the buildings in peace."

MUJAO tried several times to persuade journalist Malick Aliou Maiga to work for them. He refused and took the struggle for a free Gao to the airwaves on Radio Aadar Koima. As an act of gratitude to the French troops who marched into Gao at the end of January 2013, he has since named his studio "Operation Serval."

There are still French soldiers in the city, mostly around the airport. Security is also being provided by MINUSMA blue helmet troops. The 12,000-strong mission began operations in Mali in July 2013. Gao is one of the mission's bases.

Even though the security situation is improving, life hasn't returned to normal because a number of things are still missing. There isn't a single bank open in the city, which makes any sort of business activity extremely difficult.

Many people are placing their hopes on the presidential elections on July 28. A democratically elected head of state would mean the end of the interim government and Mali would be once again able to take its future into its own hands. Life could return to normal in Gao.

In spite of the recent unrest involving MNLA rebels in the neighboring town of Kidal, many people in Gao want to see a peaceful, united Mali.