Mali Bound

Inside a military base in northern Mali, a concrete bollard emblazoned with French, Estonian and Swedish flags marks a zone reserved for a new anti-jihadist unit of elite European troops. Dubbed Task Force Takuba, the new joint deployment marks a coup for France,...

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, on a trip to Mali on Monday, ruled out dialogue with jihadists driving an eight-year-old insurgency in the Sahel state.  (See our opinion on this last week).   "Let's say things very clearly. There are peace accords (with...

Editor's commentary by Arezki Daoud: France won’t let it happen Perhaps this is another opportunity for the world and regional powers, as well as to the Malians themselves to recognize a number of key facts. That starts with the idea that a central government in...

Twelve civilians were killed in volatile central Mali on Tuesday morning in addition to 12 soldiers who died in a twin attack that began overnight, police and humanitarian officials said. The group was travelling in a minibus following a military convoy sent to...