Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to pay more than $48 million to a local military equipment firm, in a legal battle dating back to 2014 triggered by corruption allegations. The World Bank and IMF froze aid to Mali that year over state dealings …
Read More »Mali president declares three days mourning for dozens killed
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita declared three days of mourning on Monday for the dozens of people killed over the last week in jihadist attacks and bombings. Keita cancelled travel plans to an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia over the weekend to visit central …
Read More »14 Malian soldiers killed in attack on camp: army
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Fourteen soldiers were killed and 18 wounded on Saturday in an attack on their camp in Mali’s restive north, the army said, while military sources told AFP jihadists were responsible. Mali’s deteriorating security situation is of growing concern as Al-Qaeda-linked groups mount increasingly deadly attacks …
Read More »Britain and Italy to bolster troop presence in Africa’s Sahel
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain is set to send helicopters to bolster a key French counter-terrorism operation in Mali in a package of measures to be agreed at a summit near London on Thursday. The commitment will come as Prime Minister Theresa May meets French President Emmanuel Macron …
Read More »Three French soldiers wounded in Mali attack
Paris, France | AFP | Three French soldiers deployed in a counter-terrorism force in Mali’s restive northeast were injured, one seriously, in a suicide bomb attack, France’s army said Friday. The convoy was attacked while travelling between the Menaka and Indelimane regions on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of the launch …
Read More »48 Malians drown in single day trying to reach Europe: government
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Flags flew at half-mast in Mali on Thursday as the government announced 48 of its citizens drowned in the Mediterranean on a single day over the weekend, all trying to reach Europe. The west African nation accounted for the fifth largest contingent of arrivals to …
Read More »Bank official, tech exec announce Mali presidential bids
Bamako, Mali | AFP | A regional bank official and the head of an African tech initiative both announced candidacies for the Malian presidency on Wednesday, as the 2018 race for the troubled Sahel nation heats up. Modibo Kone, a rural development expert at the West African Development Bank, and Hamadoun …
Read More »Mali president eyes amnesties under ‘national consensus’ law
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali will adopt a law on “national consensus” that may amnesty rebels who took part in a revolt in 2012, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said in a New Year’s speech. Keita, in a nationwide message late Sunday, said the law would draw on a so-called …
Read More »Mali army kills 5 jihadists after ambush
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali’s army said Thursday it killed five jihadists but lost one soldier repelling an attack in the centre of the vast, landlocked nation. The assault happened at a military outpost near the remote town of Niono at around 0130 GMT, a military statement said. The …
Read More »Security Council authorizes UN support for G5 Sahel troops
United Nations, United States | AFP | The Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing UN peacekeepers in Mali to provide logistical and operational support to the new G5 Sahel anti-jihadist force there. The resolution, drafted by France, was the subject of tough negotiations with the United States, which …
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