LAWYERS for a Malian Islamist rebel accused of war crimes told his trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) that their client was just a small fish within the rebel group that took over Timbuktu. Defence lawyer Melinda Taylor did not deny that Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz was a member of the Ansar Dine Islamist group which controlled every aspect of daily life in Timbuktu after its 2012 takeover. However, she painted him as someone trying to maintain order in a chaotic situation after the rebel takeover and who did not contribute in a meaningful way to any of…