A group of former separatist rebels in Mali killed “dozens” of members of a pro-government armed group before a UN helicopter monitoring the fighting crashed in the country’s north, sources told AFP Thursday. The UN has confirmed two German crew members belonging to its MINUSMA peacekeeping mission were killed while observing the area near the … Read more
A German helicopter with two crew on board crashed in northern Mali on Wednesday in an apparent accident while monitoring clashes for the peacekeeping force, UN sources told AFP. The UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, has sent a team to the site to check for possible casualties and find out what happened, said spokesman Farhan … Read more
The Malian army said Friday it had killed a top jihadist commander operating in the country’s troubled central region, following heavy fighting in the north against jihadists and among armed groups this week. Bekaye Sangare, a senior figure in the Macina Brigades, a group that joined a powerful jihadist alliance formed in March, was killed … Read more
Mali’s constitutional court Wednesday dealt another blow to embattled President Ibrahima Boubacar Keita over a controversial referendum, saying changes his government wants to make to the national charter require “corrections”. A referendum on Mali’s national charter was due on July 9 but was postponed indefinitely in the face of internal opposition in government and following … Read more
Mali’s government and armed groups which signed a 2015 peace deal have relaunched talks aimed at speeding up its implementation after several delays, they told AFP Saturday. The accord signed in 2015 aimed at curbing separatist uprisings in Mali’s north after a 2012 rebellion was hijacked by jihadists, throwing the nation into chaos. But several … Read more
Three United Nations peacekeepers were killed and eight others wounded when they came under sustained attack in Kidal in Mali’s troubled north, the UN said Friday. The camp “came under heavy rocket/mortar fire” on Thursday and “a little later a position nearby was attacked” outside the base, the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, said in … Read more
Four Malian Red Cross employees have been kidnapped in the country’s restive centre, the organisation said Monday, while a local official said negotiations were underway for their release. The Red Cross briefly suspended operations in the northern city of Kidal following a burglary at its offices last month, and has suffered kidnappings of its staff … Read more
Tensions between armed groups who encircled Mali’s fabled Timbuktu have prevented the head of a new regional body from taking charge in the former rebel-held city despite government assurances he would start work on Monday. Boubacar Ould Hamadi, a member of the former rebel alliance that rose up in 2012 in Mali’s north, was originally … Read more
An interim authority for Mali’s troubled northern Kidal region, a stronghold of the former Tuareg rebellion, was finally installed on Tuesday, the first step toward improving security enough to allow local elections. The creation of interim bodies in four other northern regions is scheduled for later this week, a government statement said. Hassan Ag Fagaga, … Read more
A key step on the road to peace in northern Mali will take place Saturday when interim local authorities begin work, smoothing the path to municipal elections, the Malian government said. Tuareg-led rebels led an uprising in 2012 that was hijacked by jihadists, throwing northern Mali into chaos, but the rebels signed an accord in … Read more
Key provisions of a peace deal signed by the Malian government and ex-rebels in 2015 are finally due to be rolled out imminently, according to an official document obtained by AFP Friday. Tuareg-led rebels led an uprising in 2012 that was hijacked by jihadists, throwing Mali into chaos and triggering a UN-French military intervention the … Read more