video transcript

Just two weeks after French and Malian troops took back towns in the North of Mali -- residents in Gao still live in fear. For ten months under Islamist rule they were forced to live under Sharia law. Those suspected of crimes like stealing -- faced a harsh form of justice. (SOUNDBITE) (French) AMPUTEE, ALZUMA ISSA, SAYING: "They brought me to Independence Place. That's the place for sharia. It's there that they cut off my hand. Without a shot, without an injection, they tied up my two feet and my two hands, that's how they cut me. I panicked." Over the weekend, Islamists launched a surprise attack on the town, a reminder that while the threat may have moved on -- it has not gone away. For some -- the legacy of Islamist rule -- is something they will remember every day.