A Malian government delegation met donors at the European Commission in Brussels on 5 February to assess progress made since a conference on 15 May 2013 at which donors pledged €3.25bn ($4.4bn) to finance a recovery plan. Islamist fighters seized control of northern Mali in 2012 following a coup in Bamako. They were driven back by French military intervention, and civilian rule was re-established in mid-2013, but a truce with Tuareg separatists is fragile and security remains an issue in the north.