There’s no runway, just a patch of loose gravel where the white World Food Programme plane touches down in rebel-controlled northern Mali.
Several waiting pickups mounted with heavy machine guns take position around the aircraft; U.N. soldiers in green camouflage and blue helmets fan out into dry, leafless, trees, scanning for a possible ambush.
While much of the north has been subdued, and peace talks with the rebels are ongoing, this area is outside of government control.
Read the full article on the Pulitzer Center.