Al Qaeda-linked militants curb their brutality in seized Malian territory

DAKAR: The meetings have become routine. Every few months, jihadists in Mali affiliated with Al-Qaeda summon the men of Poutchi to a mud-brick mosque to collect tax on their crops and cattle, and later distribute food, medicine and animals to the poor. Five years ago, the same militants threatened to slit the throat of anyone in Poutchi — including the imam — who questioned their interpretation of Islam, recalls Amadou, a herder who lives in the village by the Niger River.

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