This paper (2009) by Camille Tawill evaluates the strengths and weaknesses demonstrated by AQIM in the whole of the Maghreb during 2009 with particular comparison to the previous few years. In doing so, this paper takes into account the activities of AQIM in some – but not all – of the Saharan countries known as the Sahel region. This article refers to AQIM’s activities in Mali, Niger and Chad, or the northern Sahel, a region seen as an integral part of the Southern Zone of AQIM, despite the fact that it lies geographically outside the traditional Arab Maghreb. It concludes with an attempt to foresee what trends AQIM will assume over the course of this coming year.