Mali - The African Mirror

Oct

11

2023

Putin talks security with Malian leader in third phone call in two months

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin discussed trade and security with Mali's leader in their third phone conversation in less than two months, the Kremlin said. The frequency of Putin's contacts with Mali's interim president Assimi Goita underlines Moscow's strong interest in building its influence in the coup-prone Sahel region of West Africa where it is cultivating strong security ties at the expense of France and the United States. The two leaders discussed their "mutual commitment to further strengthening trade and economic ties, security cooperation and the fight against terrorism", the Kremlin said in a statement. Goita echoed this in a post on social media and…

Oct

06

2023

By LAYLI FOROUDI

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger students in French visa limbo as relations sour

NEWS

BURKINA Faso medical student Alphonse Nikiema lit up as he read an email from his university allowing him to resume visa paperwork for training at a French hospital next year - a move that has been in limbo since France suspended consular services in his country. Hundreds of students, researchers and artists with upcoming professional trips to France that can take months of planning have been uncertain about getting their visas due to deteriorating relations with France following coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger over the past three years. The juntas that seized power have turned against former colonial…

Oct

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Mali Tuareg rebels claim military base following clashes on Sunday

NEWS

MALI'S northern Tuareg rebels said that they had seized another military base from the Malian army following fighting in the north of the country. The military base is the fourth taken in a series of attacks the rebel alliance, called the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), has carried out since August following the departure of a U.N. peacekeeping mission that for years helped maintain a fragile calm. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesman for the CMA told Reuters on Sunday that they had taken control of the Bamba military base in the Gao region. He gave no further details. The Malian…

Jul

02

2023

By MICHELLE NICHOLS

UN ends peacekeeping mission in Mali, US blames Russia’s Wagner

NEWS

THE United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to end a decade-long peacekeeping mission in Mali after the West African country's military junta abruptly asked the 13,000-strong force to leave - a move the United States said was engineered by Russia's Wagner mercenary group. The end of the operation, known as MINUSMA, follows years of tensions and government restrictions that have hobbled peacekeeping air and ground operations since Mali teamed up in 2021 with Russia's Wagner group, which was behind an abortive armed mutiny in Russia last weekend. U.N. peacekeepers are credited with playing a vital role in protecting civilians against an Islamist insurgency that has killed…

Jul

01

2023

By The African Mirror

What does the Wagner Group do? Operations in Africa and the rest of the world explained

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE abortive mutiny by Russia's Wagner group last week calls into question the fate of the group's wide network of military and commercial operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This factbox shows what Wagner is doing and where. UKRAINE Wagner deployed in Ukraine soon after the invasion began early last year and by the summer it was enlisting thousands of prisoners to fight for it on the front lines. By December, as it took a central role in the battle for Bakhmut, U.S. intelligence estimated it had 40,000 prisoner recruits fighting in Ukraine, though Wagner itself has not commented on…

Jun

19

2023

By The African Mirror

Analysis: Mali faces spectre of anarchy after demanding UN’s departure

NEWS

EDWARD MCALLISTER and DAVID LEWIS MALI'S demand for the departure of U.N. peacekeepers heralded a sudden end to a decade-long mission that has struggled to protect civilians and its own troops, raising fears the country could slide deeper into chaos amid an Islamist insurgency and the possible revival of a separatist uprising. The U.N. mission, known as MINUSMA, has been hobbled by restrictions on its air and ground operations since Mali's ruling junta joined forces with Russian military contractor Wagner Group in 2021, limiting its effectiveness against an Islamist insurgency that took root a decade ago and has since spread across…

Jun

17

2023

By MICHELLE NICHOLS

Mali asks United Nations to withdraw peacekeeping force

NEWS

MALI'S interim military authorities asked for a United Nations peacekeeping force to leave "without delay", citing a "crisis of confidence" between Malian authorities and the decade-long U.N. mission known as MINUSMA. It marks a major turning point for the West African country, which has struggled to stem an Islamist insurgency that took root following an uprising in 2012. MINUSMA was deployed by the U.N. Security Council in 2013 to support foreign and local efforts to restore stability. Frustrations over the growing insecurity spurred two coups in 2020 and 2021 and the ruling junta has been increasingly at loggerheads with MINUSMA…

May

15

2023

By The African Mirror

Mali rejects UN report on execution of 500 villagers

NEWS

MALI'S interim military government has rejected a United Nations human rights office report on the alleged execution of at least 500 people by Malian soldiers and unidentified foreign fighters during an operation last year. The ruling junta was responding to a report released on Friday after a months-long investigation into what rights groups described as the worst atrocity in a 10-year conflict between Islamist groups and the army. "The transitional government vehemently denounces this biased report that is based on a fictitious narrative and does not meet established international standards," government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga said in a statement on Saturday. The report…

May

15

2023

By The African Mirror

Mali rejects UN report on alleged execution of 500 villagers by troops

NEWS

MALI'S interim military government has rejected a United Nations human rights office report on the alleged execution of at least 500 people by Malian soldiers and unidentified foreign fighters during an operation last year. The ruling junta was responding to a report released on Friday after a months-long investigation into what rights groups described as the worst atrocity in a 10-year conflict between Islamist groups and the army. "The transitional government vehemently denounces this biased report that is based on a fictitious narrative and does not meet established international standards," government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga said in a statement on Saturday. The report…

May

09

2023

By The African Mirror

Mali sets date for delayed vote, saying it’s true to its word on democracy

NEWS

MALI'S military government set a new date for a delayed constitutional referendum meant to pave the way for presidential elections next year. The vote, initially scheduled for March 19, is the first in a series of polls meant to restore democracy in the West African country after two military takeovers since August 2020. It was delayed days before that date to give electoral management authorities more time to set up in all of Mali's 19 administrative regions. Government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga announced on state television on Friday that the referendum would now take place on June 18. He added that the new…