security upfront Bound

The departure of the French forces and the forthcoming exit from Mali of the UN peacekeeping mission known as MINUSMO, are creating a new set of problems for the Sahelian nation of Mali. In particular, the northern political elite representing the Touareg nation are experiencing a major leadership crisis. There is a lack of consensus among Tuareg leaders as to the way forward, but all of them anticipate the central government in Bamako to take advantage of the absence of foreign observers to launch an offensive against the populations of the north.

At least 31 Burkinabe soldiers and three allied volunteer militiamen (VDP) have been killed in an attack by suspected jihadists in the country's north, security sources said Tuesday. Dozens were also killed in a separate attack on Monday, the latest in one of the...

Annual cocaine seizures in the Sahel surged from 13 kilograms (28 pounds) in 2020 to 863 kilos just two years later as armed groups sought to profit from the illicit trade, the United Nations' drug agency said in its 2023 report. The largest seizures of the drug in...

Armed groups that signed a landmark peace accord in insurgency-hit Mali have alleged widespread fraud during voting in a weekend referendum for a new constitution. The Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), gathering political and military movements in northern Mali,...