Mali

Guterres said the force would need to be African, and "from the African Union, but with a Chapter Seven Security Council mandate and obligatory financing" – referring to a UN charter that permits the use of armed force in the event of a "threat to peace”.

Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe has agreed to act as a mediator in Mali’s political crisis as the West African country’s military government faces pressure to re-establish civilian rule, their foreign ministers have said.

Germany will end its participation in the European Union training mission in Mali but is ready to continue with a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country under certain conditions, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Wednesday.

In a long-expected decision, Mali's ruling junta has pulled the plug on a number of military accords with France. French soldiers and European partners are on track to leave the West African country by the end of summer.

Mali’s ban on two major international broadcasters operating inside the country is a worrying development in itself but it also reflects growing regional intolerance towards freedom of expression, the UN rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.

Mali’s military government has accused France of spying after the French military released drone video of what it said were Russian mercenaries staging a mass grave near a military base the French handed back to Mali.

France has accused Russia of mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit its almost decade-long military operation in Mali.

The United Nations says it is "extremely concerned" that Mali has not allowed independent investigators to visit the town of Moura, where local troops and suspected Russian mercenaries allegedly killed hundreds of civilians. 

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is facing its most difficult period since its inception in April 2013. While French and European forces prepare to withdraw, MINUSMA’s mandate likely will be renewed by the Security Council this June, though questions remain about the mission’s performance and ability to respond to shifts in alliances that could impact longer-term stabilization goals.

A Russian national operating alongside Malian soldiers was killed by a roadside bomb in the center of the conflict-torn Sahel state, an army document and officials said on Wednesday. … The death marks the first confirmed fatality of what in Mali are officially described as Russian military instructors.