Mali News

Top Malian jihadist killed as unrest intensifies

By AFP

Bamako - 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.

Macron in Mali for diplomatic push on Sahel anti-jihadist force

By AFP

Bamako - French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday threw his weight behind a planned Sahel force to fight jihadists on a lightning visit to Mali but told countries in the region their efforts had to bear fruit.

Al-Qaeda in Mali releases video showing 6 foreign hostages alive: SITE

By AFP

Bamako - Al-Qaeda's Mali branch has released a proof-of-life video of six foreign hostages, including elderly Australian surgeon Arthur Kenneth Elliott and Frenchwoman Sophie Petronin, US-based monitoring group SITE said.

Macron in Mali for diplomatic push on Sahel anti-jihad force

By AFP

Bamako - 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.

Thousands rally against Mali referendum ahead of Macron visit

By AFP

Bamako - About 2,000 people rallied Saturday in conflict-torn Mali against a constitutional referendum over concerns the proposed changes hand the president too much power, an AFP correspondent said.

France's Macron due in Mali to back Sahel anti-jihad force

By AFP

Bamako - President Emmanuel Macron is due in Mali on Sunday to consolidate Western backing for a regional anti-jihadist force, as France beefs up its counter-terror operations in the area.

UN agrees to draw down Darfur peacekeeping force

By AFP

New York - The UN Security Council on Thursday agreed to a major drawdown of peacekeepers in Sudan's troubled region of Darfur after US pressure led to a $600-million cut in the UN budget for peace operations.

Swede held by Al-Qaeda in Mali since 2011 freed

By AFP

Stockholm - A Swede who had been held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali since 2011 has been freed and has returned home, the Swedish government said Monday, but the fate of a fellow hostage from South Africa remains unknown.

Mourners return to Mali resort hit by jihadists

By AFP

Bamako - The debris of the jihadist attack is still scattered for all to see: broken tea cups, charred mobile phones and upended chairs strew the once idyllic surrounds of this Malian ecolodge following last Sunday's violence.

UN Security Council unanimously welcomes Sahel force

By AFP

New York - The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Wednesday that paves the way for deployment of a five-nation African military force to fight jihadists in the Sahel region.

Mali ex-rebels reject national charter on peace deal anniversary

By AFP

Bamako - Mali's former rebel alliance on Tuesday rejected a national reconciliation charter unveiled on the second anniversary of the signing a peace deal with the government, underscoring the country's fraying peace process.

France, US agree UN draft on anti-jihadist Sahel force

By AFP

New York - France and the United States have reached agreement on a draft UN resolution that would pave the way for the deployment of a five-nation African military force to fight jihadists in the Sahel region, diplomats said Tuesday.

Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists claim responsibility for Mali resort attack

By AFP

Bamako - An Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist alliance claimed responsibility Monday for an attack on a tourist resort near Mali's capital that left five people dead, including members of a European Union mission to the country.

Two dead as suspected jihadists attack Mali tourist resort

By AFP

Bamako - 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.

Suspected jihadists attack tourist resort in Mali capital

By AFP

Bamako - Suspected jihadists stormed a tourist resort popular with Westerners outside the Malian capital Bamako on Sunday, the country's security ministry said.

Five Mali soldiers killed in attack on military camp

By AFP

Bamako - Five soldiers were killed Saturday in northern Mali, where a surge in violence has prompted calls for the UN to create a new anti-jihadist force for the region.

Mali urges UN to support anti-jihadist force for the Sahel

By AFP

New York - Mali's foreign minister on Friday pressed the UN Security Council to quickly adopt a resolution endorsing the creation of a special force to fight the jihadists increasingly plaguing North Africa's Sahel region.

France faces US reservations over UN backing for Sahel force

By AFP

New York - France on Friday sought to address US reservations over its request that the United Nations authorize an African military force tasked with fighting jihadists in the Sahel region.

France will ask UN to authorize Sahel counter-terror force

By AFP

New York - France will ask the UN Security Council to authorize an African military force for the Sahel region that will be sent to root out jihadists and drug traffickers, the French ambassador said Tuesday.

New app helps Mali skin doctors reach out to distant patients

By AFP

Bamako - In Mali, where skin conditions are widespread and skin doctors are scarce, physicians have turned to technology to treat patients remotely.

Macron visits Mali's restive north

By AFP

Dori - New French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday urged faster progress in a Mali peace accord signed in 2015 on his first official visit outside Europe, while reaffirming strong military cooperation with the United States in Africa.

Macron in Mali's restive north for morale-boosting visit

By AFP

Paris - President Emmanuel Macron on Friday visits conflict-torn Mali, where French troops have been fighting jihadists for four years, in his first official visit outside Europe after taking power.

'Islamists' stone couple to death in north Mali: official

By AFP

Bamako - An unmarried couple were stoned to death in public in northeast Mali by "Islamists", local officials told AFP on Wednesday, the first such incident since jihadist groups were driven out of the region.

'Islamists' stone couple to death in north Mali: official

By AFP

'Islamists' stone couple to death in north Mali: official

By AFP

Nine Malian soldiers killed in central Mali attack

By AFP

Bamako - Nine Malian soldiers were killed and five wounded in an area regularly targeted by jihadist groups, as the commander of France's counter-terrorism force for the region said an operation on the Burkina Faso border was ongoing.

Five dead in jihadist attack in Mali

By AFP

Bamako - A Tuareg-led group in Mali said five of its fighters were killed Saturday in an attack blamed on jihadists, a week after a national peace summit called for talks with militants in the country's north.

Four charged in Mali for kidnap of Colombian nun

By AFP

Bamako - Authorities in Mali charged four men Tuesday over the kidnapping of a Colombian nun, whose whereabouts remain unknown, judicial sources told AFP.

New jihadist alliance claims border attack in Mali

By AFP

Dakar - A new jihadist alliance claimed responsibility Saturday for an attack that killed three members of Mali's security forces on March 29, according to a statement released by jihadist monitoring group SITE.