MALI
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Niger: 18 civilian killed in terror attack in Banibangou
A fresh attack in western Niger near the border with Mali has left 18 civilians dead, a local elected official said Thursday. The attack Wednesday was in the village of Deye Koukou in the Banibangou area, where 14 civilians were killed Sunday -- also by men aboard...
Sahel: French troops kill two ISGS regional leaders in Mali
France said Friday that its forces had killed two senior leaders of the Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) group in Mali in an attack coordinated with the US. French Defence Minister Florence Parly said the attack hit a camp in the Menaka region of the west...
At least 20 dead in Mali boating accident
At least 20 people died while nine were rescued following a boating accident on an artificial lake in southwestern Mali, local officials said on Wednesday. The mayor of nearby Baya said the passengers were heading for celebrations of the Muslim festival of...
Sahel: French warplane crashes in central Mali
A French Mirage warplane crashed in an uninhabited area of central Mali on Tuesday after suffering a technical malfunction, but its two crew ejected and were quickly recovered, the French army said. The plane was carrying out surveillance near the town of Homburi in...
Sahel: Failed assassination attempt on Mali’s interim president
Assimi Goita’s Profile By Amaury Hauchard with Laurent Lozano in Dakar An enigmatic special forces commander, Mali's interim leader Assimi Goita is known to be publicity-shy but with a penchant for power. He grabbed headlines in May when he ousted Mali's former...
Catholic hostages freed in Mali
A Malian priest -- the last of a group of five Catholics kidnapped in mid-June -- has been freed, church and government sources said Wednesday. Armed men took the five people hostage in the centre of Mali on June 21 after they left Segue to attend the funeral of...
Mali: Son of former president faces demand for his arrest
By Serge Daniel A year ago, times were good for Karim Keita. The son of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had become a kingpin in Malian business and politics and gained a reputation for a freewheeling lifestyle -- critics nicknamed him "Kim Jong 2." But in August...
Sahel: Despite announcing troop drawdown plan, France insists it will not leave the Sahel
France to start closing military bases in Mali by year-end President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that France would start closing its bases in northern Mali before the end of the year, part of a drawdown of French troops fighting Islamist extremists in the Sahel. "The...
Sahel: Mali Church officials report kidnapping of Catholics in Mopti
Armed men in central Mali have abducted five Catholics, including an abbot, Church officials said Tuesday, in the latest kidnapping in the war-torn Sahel state. The group disappeared on Monday while travelling from the mostly Catholic area of Segue in the centre of...
Sahel: France announces arrest of ISGS’ Abou Dardar
By Didier Lauras with Amaury Hauchard in Bamako French forces in Mali have captured a man they describe as a "high-ranking fighter of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara" (ISGS), the French military said Wednesday. Dadi Ould Chouaib, also known as Abou Dardar, was...
Mali: Bomb blast in Timbuktu wounds four Malian civilians and six French soldiers
A suicide car bomber attacked French troops patrolling in central Mali on Monday, according to France's military, wounding six soldiers and four civilians including a child in the war-torn West African country. The French soldiers, who were travelling in a vehicle,...
Sahel: Soldiers killed, UN troops wounded in Mali
Two soldiers have been killed in an ambush by suspected jihadists and eight United Nations troops wounded by a landmine in conflict-riven Mali, military and UN sources said Sunday. "Two of our men were killed by terrorists on Saturday night in an attack on one of our...
Sahel: France to announce withdrawal of troops from Sahel as region slides into uncontrollable violence
By Daphné Benoit French President Emmanuel Macron is set to announce Thursday a partial withdrawal of French troops deployed in the Sahel region of Africa for almost a decade to battle jihadist insurgents, three sources with knowledge of the plan told AFP. The issue...
Mali strongman Assimi Goita takes over power, pledges elusive stability
By Kassim Traore Malian strongman Colonel Assimi Goita stood by the goal of staging elections next February as he was sworn in as transitional president on Monday, also naming a civilian premier after international outrage over the country's second coup in nine...
Sahel: France losing grip of Mali and issues threats after army-man Goita took over power
New Mali leader meets Touareg representatives in a necessary move to bring peace to the country AFP - Malian strongman Colonel Assimi Goita met former Tuareg rebels on Wednesday, officials said, amid political uncertainty after the second coup in nine months in the...
Sahel: Mali sinks into a deeper political crisis
By Marion Douet The African Union announced it was suspending Mali with immediate effect and threatened the impoverished country with sanctions, after a second military coup in nine months. The putsch has sparked deep concerns over stability in the volatile Sahel...
Mali president, PM resign after arrest by military junta
By Serge Daniel and Malick Konate Mali's interim president and prime minister resigned on Wednesday, a top junta aide said, two days after they were detained and stripped of their powers in what appeared to amount to the country's second coup in nine months. In New...
Sahel: Mali descends into chaos with second coup in the offing
The Real Problem in the Sahel: Editor’s Opinion The chaos in Mali has provided further evidence that the former colonial power, France, in particular, but also its enabling allies like Britain, Scandinavian nations and by extension the United Nations, are having...
Sahel: Handover of power to civilians is not happening in Mali
Mali's largest union launches fresh strike Mali's largest trade union launched a fresh strike on Monday, an AFP journalist said, slowing or paralysing government offices and banks in the unstable West African country. The move follows a similar strike last week, and...
Sahel: Ridicule over Mali’s military regime and threat of sanctions prompt junta to announce upcoming “broad-based” government
Mali's interim government is set to form a new "broad-based" cabinet, the presidency said on Friday, amid growing criticism of the army-dominated authorities in the Sahel state. Prime Minister Moctar Ouane resigned Friday but was immediately reappointed in order to...
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