France stands by watching as its old enemies of 2013 crush Mali

The Malian army was  crushingly defeated at Kidal yesterday. Its defeat was not at the hands of the MNLA alone: it appears that  many of the  armed groups that reinforced the Touareg separatists were part of the AQMI  coalition that was once the prime targets of the French forces  when they intervened so opportunely  in January 2013,  hailed rapturously as the heroes and liberators of Mali.

This time they stood by and watched passively while their former enemies regrouped,  some under new names such as the HCUA, which is the regrouping of  the feared Ançar Dine which came out of hiding and lent their support to the MNLA's effort yesterday under the leadership of  Iyad Ag Ghali, the darling of the UK Guardian. (see blogsearch above) The picture above  shows the flag of Ançar Dine  flying on the pick up trucks on their way to Kidal yesterday. There are reports of the MUJAO taking part as well. Kidal has been retaken and there are report of other northern cities such as Menaka and Aguelhoc also falling to this regrouped coalition.  40 Malian soldiers are dead, the battlecries heard in Kidal yesterday were the familiar :Allahu Akbar! of the very Islamists that the French had all but wiped out a year and a half ago.
What the XXXX is going on????