Armored vehicles rumbled through the deserted streets of Bamako, Mali, last week, while the rattle of fire from assault rifles could be heard coming from the western part of the capital, especially around the presidential guard's barracks and in the city's slums. .................................................. Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia has called the situation "very, very worrying." Mhand Berkouk, director of the Echaab Center for Strategic Studies, in Algiers, fears an "Afghanization of the entire Sahel region." Berkouk believes Azawad could become a base for terrorists from around the world.