Mali’s military leader Assimi Goita said on Tuesday that he had spoken on the phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Niger, where a junta seized power in a coup last month. Putin “stressed the importance of…
Options before ECOWAS — Ehi Braimah
It’s been over three weeks since the military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani sacked the administration of democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic – our next door neighbor – on July 26. During the period, leaders and…
Mali scraps French as official language
Mali has removed French as an official state language, six decades after the country gained independence from its former colonial master. The decision is enshrined in the West African country’s new constitution, adopted on Saturday. On Friday, Bamako’s constitutional court…
Mali urges immediate end to UN Minusma peacekeeping mission
Mali’s foreign minister has called on the UN to withdraw its peacekeeping force from his country “without delay”. Abdoulaye Diop accused the force, Minusma, of having “become a part of the problem in fuelling intercommunal tensions”. He was addressing the…
Malian troops, foreign forces executed 500 people in village in 2022 – UN
Malian soldiers and unidentified foreign military personnel were likely to have executed at least 500 people during a five-day operation in the village of Moura in central Mali in March 2022. This was disclosed by the U.N. Human Rights Office…
Malian president’s chief of staff, 3 others killed in ambush
The chief of staff for Mali’s interim president, Oumar Traore, and three others have been killed in an ambush, the government said on Thursday. The ambush took place in the rural area of Nara in Mali’s southwestern Koulikoro region, the…
Burkina urges ‘federation’ with Mali for joint clout
Burkina Faso’s prime minister, in a visit to neighbouring Mali this week, has suggested the two countries form a “federation” to boost their economic clout, his office said. Both nations are battling jihadist insurgencies and are run by juntas who…
Ivory Coast to withdraw from UN peacekeeping mission in Mali – Letter
Ivory Coast on Tuesday announced it will gradually withdraw its contribution of military and police from a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in Mali, according to a letter by its Ambassador to the UN. The latter came after Bamako detained…
France completes Mali pull-out
The last soldiers belonging to France’s Barkhane operation in Mali have now left the African country, the French chiefs of staff said on Monday. French forces have been supporting Mali against insurgents for nearly a decade, but President Emmanuel Macron…
Two Red Cross workers killed in Mali ambush
A vehicle transporting a Red Cross team came under a hail of gunfire in western Mali, killing a worker and the car’s driver, the Malian and Dutch Red Cross organisations have said. Witnesses said the attackers were riding motorcycles when…
