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Infighting inside the Sahel’s Jihadi movement
To the uninitiated, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group may be pursuing the same long-term goal of spreading Islamic law through territorial expansion and deadly violence. But actually, their ideology and methods differ so fundamentally that they are...
Sahel: Ecowas lifts sanctions on Mali, interim government releases detainees
Eleven political and military figures arrested during the coup in Mali in August have been released, including former prime minister Boubou Cisse, the transition authorities announced. New army strongman Assimi Goita issued an official statement late Wednesday saying...
Sahel: French hostage and Mali opposition leader freed
A French aid worker kidnapped in Mali in 2016 and one of the country's leading opposition politicians have been released, the presidency said on Thursday. The office of Mali's president said on social media that Frenchwoman Sophie Petronin, 75, and Soumaila Cisse, 70,...
Sahel: Mali braces for potential release of hostages by Jihadis
[Photo of French hostage Sophie Petronin] - A second batch of jihadists has been freed in Mali, sources said Tuesday, boosting speculation that a French charity worker and Malian politician held by the insurgents may be freed in a swap. About 30 "jihadist prisoners...
Sahel: Upsurge of malaria cases in Mali
Malaria cases in northern Mali have spiked, according to medical workers, claiming 23 lives in the often lawless desert region last week alone. Mali's ministry of health said this week that 59 people have died of malaria in the north since the start of the year,...
Power politics in the Sahel: Profile of a Sufi leader
Cattle herders, traders and heads of state are among the people who have sought the ear of the sharif of Nioro, one of Mali's most influential men, to whom they voice their needs, grievances and hopes. A man of great clout and reputed wealth, Mouhamedou Ould Cheikh...
Mali: Moctar Ouane appointed Interim Prime Minister
Mali's interim president Bah Ndaw on Sunday named former Malian foreign minister Moctar Ouane as prime minister, opening the way for the country's neighbours to lift sanctions imposed after its August military coup. A civilian premier was the precondition for ECOWAS...
Mali’s neighbors want a civilian Prime Minister, pledge to keep sanctions otherwise
West African states will uphold sanctions on Mali until it appoints a civilian prime minister, the leader of the ECOWAS regional bloc said Friday. The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States slapped sanctions on Mali after the August 18 military coup,...
Mali: Military junta announces transitional leaders, recalls retired colonel as Interim President
Bamako, Sept 21, 2020 - Dubbed "the big one" for his imposing height, Mali's future interim president Bah Ndaw has served dictators and presidents alike throughout his long military career. Officials appointed by the Sahel state's ruling junta hauled him out of...
Sahel: French and US forces assess their cooperation on the Sahel as Trump remains uncommitted
The senior US commander for Africa met France's top general on Thursday to discuss the fight against militant groups in the region, as uncertainty persists over whether President Donald Trump will maintain American troop levels on the continent. General Stephen...
Mali: Impasse in Bamako as opposition rejects junta-backed roadmap
Mali's popular opposition movement has rejected a charter for a transition government backed by the army officers who ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The military junta backed an arrangement for an 18-month transition government on Saturday, after a three-day...
Mali: North and central Mali remain tense while Bamako struggles to recover from coup
Timbuktu, Mali, Sept 14, 2020 - Malian army lieutenant Abdoul Kadri leads a patrol through the bustling streets of the desert city of Timbuktu, gun by his side. The concerns of the capital Bamako, still reeling after last month's military coup that ousted president...
Mali: Military junta wants to appoint its own president
Experts appointed by Mali's military junta on Friday proposed a two-year transitional government led by a president chosen by the army, according to a document seen by AFP. The text has been submitted to hundreds of participants at a three-day forum in Bamako aimed at...
Mali: Ambush claims lives of 10 soldiers in Koulioro
At least 10 Malian soldiers were killed in an overnight ambush in a central region near the Mauritanian border where armed jihadist groups are rampant, security and local sources said Friday. It is the third time Malian security forces have suffered heavy losses since...
Mali: Reshuffle in Mali’s defense and security establishment
Bamako, Sept 2, 2020 - Mali's junta has named a new army chief of staff and appointed people to other key army and security posts, weeks after seizing power, according to decrees published Wednesday. General Oumar Diarra is named chief of the general staff of the...
Mali: Ousted president Keita suffers mini-stroke, admitted in hospital
Bamako, Sept 2, 2020 - Former Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has not been seen in public since his August 18 ouster in a coup, has been hospitalised after suffering a brief stroke-like attack, a doctor said Wednesday. Keita, 75, was admitted to a...
Mali: Civilian killed by French forces near Gao
Paris, Sept 1, 2020 - French anti-jihadist troops in Mali killed a civilian Tuesday and injured two others after a bus refused to slow down in a volatile area despite their orders, the French army command said. The incident occurred about 50 kilometres (31 miles) from...
Mali protest movement proposes 2-year transition to civilian rule
Bamako, Aug 30, 2020 - The protest coalition that campaigned against former Mali president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has proposed that the military junta that ousted him organise a transition to civilian rule within 24 months, one of its leaders said Sunday. Military...
Mali: Uncertainty looms about Mali’s political future
Bamako, Aug 31, 2020 - Conflict-riven Mali is at a crucial crossroads two weeks after a military junta took power in a coup, with calls for a thorough spring cleaning to rid the poor West African country of corruption, nepotism and misrule. The August 18 putsch has...
Mali crisis not getting better: ECOWAS wants return to civilian rule, junta wants to stay
Niamey, Aug 28, 2020 - West African countries on Friday insisted on a return to civilian rule in Mali, where rebel troops ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18 and held him for nine days. "If we consider that the question of (Keita's) release is...
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