Mali

Forty-two Malian soldiers died in a sophisticated weekend attack by suspected jihadis using drones and artillery, authorities said Wednesday, the latest violent incident to rock the troubled Sahel country.

Mali has ordered a private airline to evict foreign soldiers, including UN troops, from its Bamako airport base following last month’s arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers there. … The SAS (Sahel Aviation Services) airport hub serves as a “logistical base” for several of Mali’s international partners, including Ivorian soldiers as well as German, Austrian, Belgian, Swedish, and Pakistani troops deployed on international missions, namely with the UN.

The US did not mention a specific threat to its employees, but said there was an increased danger of violence affecting Westerners in a country that has been plagued by jihadist attacks for years.

At least 15 soldiers and three civilians were killed in coordinated "terrorist" attacks in Mali, the chronically unstable country's army said Wednesday, the latest deadly violence to rock the Sahel state.

The commander of French anti-jihadist force Barkhane, General Laurent Michon, on Thursday accused “mercenaries” from Russian group Wagner of “preying” on Mali. … Michon spoke as French forces finalize a withdrawal from Mali, bringing out military equipment via neighboring Niger. “The mining code in Mali has changed and now… a certain number of measures have been taken to exploit three gold sites for Wagner,” he alleged.

Mali is expelling the spokesman of the UN's peacekeeping force in the country, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, citing posts he made on Twitter about a diplomatic incident with Ivory Coast that has soured relations with the UN.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he wanted a "rethink of all our (military) postures on the African continent" and had asked his ministers and army chiefs to work on it.

The presidents of Chad and Niger pledged Wednesday to revive the G5 Sahel military grouping to boost the fight against jihadist insurgents after Mali quit the West African force.

The Malian government on Thursday said it would suspend troop rotations by the UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA.

Mali's military government has arrested nearly 50 Ivorian troops who provide support to a contingent of the U.N. mission, calling them “mercenaries.”