In any event, Plan Colombia has reminded Brazil that its remote northern border region is wide open.

ECONOMIST: Colombia and its neighbours

The movement's main base is over the border in northern Iraq, where Iraqi Kurds run their own region.

BBC: Defiance in Turkey's Kurdish heartland

With some planning, an open mind and a willingness to problem solve, camping is a rewarding way to see this incredibly diverse region, which stretches from Mexico's wide northern border with the US to the skinny southern tip of Panama.

BBC: Camping through Mexico and Central America

Islamist rebels are believed to have retreated to the Ifoghas mountains - a desert area in the Kidal region near the border with Algeria - after being forced from northern population centres in recent weeks.

BBC: Mali conflict: 'Many die' in Ifoghas mountain battle

The Turkish military bombed Kurdish rebel targets on Saturday in northern Iraq in response to clashes that left at least 15 Turkish troops dead in the Turkey-Iraq border region, the PKK and the military said Sunday.

CNN: Turkish airstrikes target Kurdish rebels