U.N. says Mali army chief left village unprotected before massacre
THE former head of Mali's armed forces left the village of Ogossagou unprotected earlier this year despite numerous warnings of an imminent massacre in which 35 people died, according to a United Nations report. The incident highlights a failure by Mali's security forces to protect civilians that is undermining efforts to halt spiralling ethnic and jihadist violence in West Africa's Sahel region, it said. In February, army chief Keba Sangare allowed a military unit tasked with protecting Ogossagou in central Mali to withdraw despite repeated telephone calls and messages about a likely attack, according to the report seen by Reuters…