MALI-FRANCE-CONFLICT-ECONOMY-RIVER-MOPTI

A so-called Pinasse boat ferries goods down the river Bani, a branch of the river Niger, at the commercial port of the northern city of Mopti on March 15, 2013. The commercial port of Mopti, which supplies goods and tourists up the river Niger to the northern cities of Timbuktu and Gao, has suffered greatly from the current conflict which saw those two cities being overrun by armed Islamic militants, and cut off from the rest of the country for months. AFP PHOTO / JOHN MACDOUGALL (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)