The situation in the north also deteriorated significantly in this period, resulting in the outbreak of a Second Tuareg Rebellion in 2007 led by the ''Mouvement des Nigériens pour la justice'' (MNJ). Despite a number of high-profile kidnappings the rebellion had largely fizzled out inconclusively by 2009. However the poor security situation in the region is thought to have allowed elements of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to gain a foothold in the country.