RSS, I have a friend who, until recently, worked as a geologist in that area of Africa. He spent about a decade there and was mostly based in Ghana, but he also travelled frequently to Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger and other such places. He's been to Timbuktu a couple of times - I have a Timbuktu postcard from him on my office wall. Perhaps it's because he was so familiar with Africa, but he never seemed particularly concerned about violence, the risk of robbery or of being kidnapped of killed. If it's any consolation, he told me once that the most dangerous place he'd ever been in Africa was Johannesburg and that whilst he'd happily go anywhere in Western Africa, there were parts of Jo'burg that he would never venture into. He also mentioned that he never felt the need to carry a gun or really worry about himself whilst in Africa, but now that he works in Sth America (primarily in Peru), he quite often feels worried about the risk of violence or kidnap. So, on that front, you may not need to worry too much. I'd be more concerned about travelling via a "small, chartered plane" as the reliability of flying machines in that part of the world is not good at all. By the way, if you happen to have the chance whilst you are there, see if you can visit the great mosque of Djenne, which is also in Mali.
