Mali

France has announced the death of a top jihadist leader in Mali, as it continues to push for European support in fighting the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel.

Florence Parly, the French minister of armed forces, has announced her country will be deploying ground troops to the "three borders" area of Burkina Faso. During a visit to the country's capital, Ouagadougou, she said on Monday, "the launch of operation 'Bourgou 4' will be led by Barkhane [France's military operation in the Sahel region of Africa], but with the eminent contribution of two Burkinabe companies.

At least 53 soldiers and a civilian were killed in an attack on an army post in northern Mali, government said, in one of the deadliest strikes against the West African country’s military. Islamic state claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq news agency, without providing evidence.

A demonstration in central Mali Saturday turned from protests about the deployment of Malian troops to Burkina Faso to the looting of a nearby U.N. supply depot, VOA’s French to Africa service and the United Nations said. About 1,000 people had been protesting outside the U.N. peacekeeping force (MINUSMA) camp near Sévaré, the French news agency AFP reported Saturday.

Al Qaeda’s West Africa affiliate on Tuesday claimed responsibility for coordinated, deadly attacks last week on two army bases in central Mali, it said in a statement. Thirty-eight soldiers were killed and dozens others went missing during attacks on bases in Boulkessi and Mondoro, in some of the worst violence seen against the army this year.

Some progress has been made towards restoring peace and stability in Mali as outlined in a fragile 2015 peace deal, yet sustainable peace developments are not happening fast enough, the Security Council heard on Tuesday.

The UN Secretary-General has strongly condemned two separate attacks on Sunday against the organization’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) which left one peacekeeper dead and four others injured.

West African leaders meet in the capital of Burkina Faso on Saturday for a summit expected to lead to an overhaul of the flailing attempt to roll back jihadism in the Sahel region. Most of the heads of ECOWAS, a grouping of 15 countries on West Africa's coast and hinterland, are expected to attend the special one-day meeting, which will also be attended by Chad, Cameroon and Mauritania. Topping their agenda: the record of the so-called G5 Sahel -- … .

Reconciliation initiatives in central Mali, to bring together local leaders and end ongoing violence, have been welcomed by the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali, Alioune Tine, who said on Monday that they should be supported “in whatever way possible.” The move follows warnings from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, that central areas of Mali, especially around Mopti, are seeing an increased level of violence, including the killing and maiming of children.