cannon in the region for almost 25 years. But he was one that Algeria's DRS had nurtured, financed, pandered to and, as Algeria's western allies might have reasonably presumed, brought under control in the course of its orchestration of terrorism in the region. The US, which has information gathering facilities in the Kidal region and has been complicit in turning the Sahel into the "Terror Zone" that the Pentagon first daubed on its maps of Africa in 2003, has been aware of Iyad's role in the complex Mali-AQIM-DRS tangle. The fact that he now appears to be "doing his own thing" and may even have out-manoeuvred the DRS in the cause of his own wider political ambitions is likely to raise concerns amongst Algeria's western backers that it is not as in control of the Sahel situation and AQIM as they had been led to believe. Algeria now has little choice but to try and negotiate a deal with both Iyad and the Tuareg rebels in order to calm a potentially explosive situation. This would almost certainly involve diverting further funds to Iyad Ag Ghali, guaranteeing (if possible) the substantial money being promised by the EU, as well as negotiating with Bamako a substantial degree of autonomy for the Tuareg. Such a deal could conceivably work out in Algeria's long-term interest, although reaching that point will be difficult. Adding to that difficulty is the fact that Algeria is now being perceived by its western backers to have got itself into