Mali

[…] The United Nations reports violence in Burkina Faso has forcibly displaced more than 838,000 from their homes since January 2019. The UN refugee agency reports the escalating militant attacks also are affecting some 25,000 Malian refugees living in remote camps near the border separating the two countries.

Few turned out to vote in Mali's long-delayed parliamentary elections over the weekend, as the country grapples with the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, the kidnapping of main opposition leader Soumalia Cisse, and an ongoing security crisis in the state's north and central regions. An official turnout figure was not available at the closing of the polls.

Voters in Mali went to the polls Sunday to elect members of the 147-seat National Assembly. The parliamentary election in the war-torn West African country, which should have taken place after President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s 2018 reelection, has been postponed several times since then out of security concerns.

France and several of its European allies have officially set up a new task force, called Takuba, made of special forces that will fight armed groups in the West African region of Sahel alongside the armies of Mali and Niger. … The statement said Takuba, which means "sabre" in Tuareg, is planned "to have an initial operational capability (IOC) by the summer of 2020 and expected to become operational (FOC) by early 2021".

The Council today decided to expand the scope of the mandate of the European Union military mission contributing to the training of the Malian Armed Forces (EUTM Mali). The mission will be able to provide military assistance to the G5 Sahel Joint Force and to national armed forces in the G5 Sahel countries through military advice, training and mentoring. The Council also prolonged the mission’s mandate until 18 May 2024.

At least 29 Malian soldiers have been killed in an attack on an army base in the country's northeast, according to the armed forces. There was now immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, the deadliest against the Malian army this year, in the town of Tarkint, north of the city of Gao.

Sweden’s government on Monday said it had decided to send troops to Mali to join French-led special forces that are fighting militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State in the Sahel region of North Africa. The Social Democrat and Green coalition said that Sweden would contribute a rapid reaction force of up to 150 troops and helicopters as part of international efforts to boost security in the region.

Attacks carried out by Islamist militants against military personnel in central Mali could hamper government efforts to start a dialogue process with jihadist groups in the country, experts say. On Sunday, at least six Malian soldiers were killed and a dozen wounded when jihadist militants attacked their checkpoint in the town of Mondoro in central Mali, local officials said.

The African Union (AU) has announced the temporary deployment of a 3,000-strong force in West Africa's Sahel region where countries have struggled to combat multiple armed groups amid a swiftly deteriorating security situation.