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Malian soldiers arrive in Kidal after a patrol from Gao on July 26, 2013 in northern Mali. [AFP]
Along Mali's National Route 6, a major thoroughfare connecting the capital to the country's centre, the army has reshaped the landscape: the vegetation from the surrounding forest has been cleared in anticipation of jihadist ambushes.
Armed groups use forest areas both as refuge and a base for launching deadly attacks on roads across Africa's Sahel region.
In Mali, jihadists from JNIM, Al-Qaeda's Sahel branch, operate from the vast 80,000-hectare (200,000-acre) Faya forest, located a quick drive from the capital, Bamako, from which they carry out attacks against toll stations, public transportation and freight trucks.
