They have won the battle, and now Tuareg rebels are consolidating their gains by setting up a 28-member Transitional Council.<br /><br />No body has recognised the new government, with some actively opposing it, including Mali, the African Union, and the Economic Community of West African States.<br /><br />ECOWAS is already preparing to send in a military force of 3,000 troops, and it is asking the United Nations for permission and support.<br /><br />Diplomats said they need to know more about the mission's objectives, strategy, and who will pay for it. Despite that, ECOWAS says the soldiers will be sent in soon.<br /><br />Furthermore, the Tuareg rebels face another challenge, from armed Salafist groups. These religious conservatives reject the plans for Azawad to be a secular state, wanting a government based on Islamic law instead.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Will Jordan reports.
