Considering the fact that the coup was supposedly to better fight the rebels, it seems like a pretty big failure so far.
Yes and no. The troops were tired of being treated like expendables used to keep the Azawad part of Mali. I hope folks haven't yet gone out ad bought new maps with South Sudan on it. While the coup leaders have said they are restoring the constitution, they (or a restored civilian government) may decide to give the the rebels their independence rather than fight a war to retake what has been lost.
Timbuktu and Gao aren't likely to be close to majority Tuareg these days. So unless the rebel movement is more pan regional rather than ethnic. I don't see how independence is going to work out well.
