The Director of the AMSS, the local NGO that liaises with Hay as part of the town twinning, talks about the situation in Northern Mali. In April 2012 Timbuktu City was overtaken by an Islamic fundamentalist group which has imposed sharia law. There are diverse rebel groups in the region and a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Elmehdi, a Tuareg from Timbuktu, will give an update on the situation in Northern Mali, and will discuss the relationship between Hay and Timbuktu in this context