Mali

The European Union’s top diplomat said Monday that he has ordered the suspension of combat training for soldiers in Mali until he receives guarantees from the government there that the trainees will not be working with Russian mercenaries.

Mali's ruling junta ordered French broadcasters RFI and France 24 off the air on Wednesday night, complaining they had falsely accused the army of committing abuses.

Malian soldiers and jihadists have carried out a wave of summary executions since December in the conflict-torn Sahel state, says Human Rights Watch, which is urging the government to investigate.

Casualties in the West African state are eclipsing those in its neighbour Mali, … . According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a leading aggregator of conflict statistics, a total of 1,315 events of organised political violence, including explosions and violence against civilians, were recorded in Burkina Faso last year. It was a twofold increase from 2020’s figures.

A convoy from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) hit an improvised explosive device north of Mopti on Monday, killing at least two ‘blue helmets’, from Egypt, and wounding four others. In a statement, MINUSMA said the peacekeepers were part of a logistics convoy on its way to Timbuktu.

An envoy from West Africa's regional bloc arrived in Mali on Thursday, an AFP journalist saw, for talks with the military junta over restoring civilian rule in the volatile country.

Chad says it will increase its contribution to the United Nations Minusma peacekeeping mission in Mali, … .

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France will withdraw its troops from Mali nine years after it first intervened to drive Islamic extremists from power but intends to maintain a military presence in neighboring West African nations. … European leaders simultaneously announced Thursday that troops from the European-led military task force known as Takuba also would withdraw from Mali.

In maps.

EU countries are intensifying talks on how to deal with an increasingly hostile junta in Mali that has deepened ties with Russian mercenaries.