The news dished up from mainstream media is unreliable , so I look for other sources.
I have found "AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY. The only independent news agency dedicated
exclusively to Africa."
There are eight news articles about Mali -
afrol News - Mali
From reading some of them I have gleaned that -
The country's main source of income is gold mining.(80% of GDP)
The wealth it generates is not benefiting the general population.
Aid from overseas for health projects was suspended due to corrupt misappropriation.
The 'insurgants' are the mercenaries who returned, armed, from fighting for Ghaddafi in Lybia.
They have been given the label 'Al Qaeda' and 'muslim insurgents', but they may well be just disgruntled population who do seem to have plenty to be upset about.