Niamey, Niger | AFP | Three US Green Berets and an unknown number of Nigerien soldiers were killed in a clash on the Niger-Mali border, where Islamic State fighters have established a presence, officials from said Thursday. A joint US-Niger patrol fell into an ambush on Wednesday in the Tillaberi …
Read More »HRW accuses Mali, Burkina troops of sweeping rights abuses
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Malian and Burkinabe soldiers have killed, tortured and disappeared civilians while trying to root out jihadists in central Mali, Human Rights Watch said Friday. “Mali and Burkina Faso military operations to counter the growing presence of Islamist armed groups in central Mali have resulted in …
Read More »Bid for UN vote on Mali sanctions gains momentum
United Nations, United States | AFP | A bid for a UN Security Council vote early next week on a French-sponsored resolution that would set up a sanctions regime for Mali gained momentum Friday despite resistance from some countries, diplomats said. Russia and Ethiopia have voiced reservations over the proposal, raising …
Read More »Russia balks at France’s UN proposal for Mali sanctions
United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia on Friday voiced reservations over a French proposal to set up a UN sanctions regime for Mali to punish those who are obstructing a 2015 peace deal. France last month circulated a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on establishing a …
Read More »ICC rules jihadist liable for 2.7 mn euros for Timbuktu rampage
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | War crimes judges said Thursday that a Malian jihadist was liable for 2.7 million euros in personal damages for destroying Timbuktu’s fabled shrines in 2012, as they ordered reparations in a landmark ruling. The International Criminal Court ordered that the victims of the razing …
Read More »Two UN peacekeepers killed in Mali helicopter crash
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Two German UN peacekeepers were killed Wednesday when their helicopter crashed as they were monitoring clashes in northern Mali, German and UN officials said. UN diplomats confirmed that the attack helicopter and the crew had been supplied by Germany to MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali. “Sadly we …
Read More »Macron in Mali for diplomatic push on Sahel anti-jihad force
Bamako, Mali | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Mali on Sunday to consolidate Western backing for a regional anti-jihadist force, with France urging greater support for the Sahel region amid mounting insecurity. The so-called “G5 Sahel” countries just south of the Sahara — Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, …
Read More »Two dead as suspected jihadists attack Mali tourist resort
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Suspected jihadists crying “Allahu Akbar” stormed a tourist resort popular with foreigners on the edge of the Malian capital Bamako on Sunday, briefly seizing more than 30 hostages and leaving at least two people dead. The assault on the Kangaba Le Campement resort comes …
Read More »EU to give 50 million euros for new anti-jihadists African force
EU to give 50 million euros for African force in Sahel Bamako, Mali | AFP | The EU is giving 50 million euros to set up a joint African military force in the Sahel region to fight jihadists, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief said Monday. The funds will help pay …
Read More »Macron visits French troops in Mali’s restive north
Gao, Mali | AFP | President Emmanuel Macron visited French troops fighting jihadists in conflict-torn Mali on Friday and urged faster progress on a peace accord signed in 2015. At the end of his first week in office, Macron flew into Gao, a city in Mali’s deeply-troubled north, where he …
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