Africa: Mali

Conflict: President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita visits the village of Ogassogou in central Mali after 130 Fulani villagers were killed by Dogon hunters. By Handout (MALIAN PRESIDENCY/AFP)

Mali set sights on political talks in bid to defuse jihadist crisis

Dec 12, 2019

Talks on finding a political solution to Mali's deepening crisis begin on Saturday, hampered by a sceptical opposition a ...

The Somali capital Mogadishu is the frequent target of attacks by the al-Shabaab Islamist fighters. By Tina SMOLE (AFP)

Five killed in jihadist attack on Somali hotel

Dec 11, 2019

Five people including three civilians were killed when jihadist militants stormed a hotel in Somalia's capital, police s ...

Jihadists attack hotel in Somali capital

Dec 10, 2019

Somali security forces were trying to dislodge a group of jihadist fighters who stormed a hotel in the capital Mogadishu ...

In the firing line: The Malian armed forces. By Agnes COUDURIER (AFP/File)

Two Malian troops killed, seven injured in roadsid...

Dec 3, 2019

Two soldiers were killed and seven were injured by a roadside bomb in central Mali on Monday, the army said, in the late ...

French President Emmanuel Macron said he bowed before the soldiers' 'sacrifice'. By Thibault Camus (POOL/AFP)

Macron honours 'sacrifice' of 13 French soldiers k...

Dec 2, 2019

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday paid tribute to the sacrifice of 13 soldiers killed in a helicopter collision whil ...

Soldiers saluted as the funeral convoy carrying 13 French soldiers killed in Mali crossed the Alexandre III bridge in Paris on Monday, ahead of a commemoration at the Invalides military hospital.. By GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT (AFP)

France honours 13 soldiers killed in Mali helicopt...

Dec 2, 2019

Hundreds of people lined avenues in Paris on Monday to honour 13 soldiers killed while battling jihadist insurgents in M ...

Mali's leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, seen here with French President Emmanuel Macron, has urged Malians against hostility to foreign forces in the country. By LUDOVIC MARIN (AFP)

Mali leader appeals against hostility to foreign f...

Dec 1, 2019

Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has urged Malians not to bite the hands of nations giving aid, in a response t ...

A French soldier patrols a rural area during operations in northern Burkina Faso on November 9, 2019.. By MICHELE CATTANI (AFP/File)

French army denies IS claim for deadly Mali crash ...

Nov 29, 2019

An ambush by Islamic State jihadists did not cause a collision between two French army helicopters which left 13 soldie ...

Front line: President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita inspects troops on a visit earlier this month to Gao, in Mali's volatile central region. By Souleymane Ag Anara (AFP)

Jihadist crisis puts Mali's political class under ...

Nov 28, 2019

As Mali's gruelling jihadist conflict grinds on, many say military forces cannot be expected to do all the heavy lifting ...

A soldier of the French Army patrols a rural area during the Barkhane operation in northern Burkina Faso on November 9, 2019.. By MICHELE CATTANI (AFP)

Black boxes from crashed helicopters found in Mali

Nov 27, 2019

The black boxes from two French military helicopters that collided in Mali killing 13 soldiers have been found, a French ...

The mid-air collision involved a model of the Tiger helicopter, seen here in this picture taken in northern Mali on November 8. By MICHELE CATTANI (AFP)

French soldiers killed in Mali helicopter collisio...

Nov 26, 2019

Thirteen French soldiers were killed in Mali when two helicopters collided during an operation against jihadists in the ...

Security in the G5 Sahel region. By (AFP)

Foreign military forces in Mali

Nov 26, 2019

Mali, where 13 French soldiers have died in a helicopter collision, is at the heart of a jihadist insurgency in the Sahe ...

The almost 100-year-old rail line connecting the capitals of Mali and Senegal has laid quiet and out-of-use since May last year. By MICHELE CATTANI (AFP)

In Mali, dreams and sadness for the Sahel express

Nov 26, 2019

The sign above the station entrance declares that this is the Dakar-Niger Railway: the start of a trek from the arid Sah ...

Jihadists took control of northern Mali in 2012 but were removed in a French-led military intervention. By Marco LONGARI (AFP)

24 Mali soldiers and 17 jihadists die in clashes i...

Nov 19, 2019

Twenty-four Malian soldiers and 17 jihadists fighters were killed in clashes in the east of the country, the army said, ...

In Bamako, protest organisers said around 15,000 people marched in support of the army. This file photo from September 2018 shows Malian soldiers. By Michele CATTANI (AFP/File)

Malians rally to support army as 20 bodies found i...

Nov 16, 2019

Thousands of people took to the streets of Mali's capital Bamako on Friday to support the West African country's army, w ...

Burkinabe soldiers attend a funeral for eight soldiers killed in twin attacks in the Ouagadougou in March 2018. By Ahmed OUOBA (AFP/File)

US places radical Mali preacher on terrorism black...

Nov 7, 2019

The United States on Thursday designated Mali-born preacher Amadou Koufa as a terrorist, putting a new focus on stopping ...

France announces death of top jihadist in Mali

Nov 6, 2019

France has announced the death of a top jihadist leader in Mali, as it continues to push for European support in fightin ...