TOPSHOT-MALI-CONFLICT-POLITICS-VOTE

TOPSHOT - A Tuareg man waves the flag of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MLNA) during a demonstration in support of the MLNA on July 28, 2013 in Kidal, northern Mali. Malians defied Islamist death threats to vote on July 28 for a president expected to usher in a new dawn of peace and stability in the conflict-scarred nation. Voters have a choice of 27 candidates in the first election since last year's military coup upended one of the region's most stable democracies as Islamist militants hijacked a separatist uprising to seize a vast swathe in the desert north of the country. Clashes between Tuaregs and black Africans in the run-up to the election left four people dead. And gunmen thought to be from the MNLA kidnapped five polling officials 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Kidal. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)