BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers on Friday gave the go-ahead for the country's troops to stay in Mali for up to another year, part of a plan to bring Germany's involvement in a U.N. military mission in the West African nation to an orderly end.
88-year-old Australian doctor freed 7 years after kidnapping by Islamic extremists in West Africa
May 19, 2023 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An 88-year-old Australian doctor held captive by Islamic extremists in West Africa for more than seven years has been freed and has returned to Australia.
Ken Elliott was safe and well and was reunited with his wife and their children on Thursday night, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.
UN: Africa’s Sahel desperately needs help to fight violent extremism and stop its spread
May 16, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Africa’s Sahel region has become a hot spot for violent extremism, but the joint force set up in 2014 to combat groups linked to the Islamic State, al-Qaida and others has failed to stop their inroads, and a senior U.N.
At least 10 people killed in complex attack in central Mali
April 22, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured on Saturday in a complex attack near a military base in central Mali, said the army.
A car bomb exploded near the camp in the town of Sevare in the Mopti region destroying houses and killing people, Col.
Senior Malian official among 4 dead in ambush in jihadi area
April 20, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A senior Malian official and three other people have been killed in an ambush in an area of the country's southwest, the government said Thursday. The attack occurred in an area where Islamic extremists are active.
Cattle raiding by jihadis soars in Mali, fuels conflict
April 20, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Ayouba Ag Nadroun was at the market in central Mali in March when Islamic extremists attacked his village, killing dozens of people and stealing about $10,000 worth of his cows and camels.
US to Mali: End restrictions on UN peacekeepers, seek peace
April 13, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States warned Mali’s military government Wednesday that it would be “irresponsible” for the United Nations to continue deploying its more than 15,000 peacekeepers unless the western African nation ends restrictions including on operating reconnaissance drones and carries out political commitments toward peace and elections in March 2024.
Adrift in the Atlantic, a boat of death and lost dreams
April 12, 2023 GMTAdrift in the Atlantic, a boat of death and lost dreams
April 12, 2023 GMTBELLE GARDEN, Tobago (AP) — Around 6:30 a.m. on May 28, 2021, off the beach near the Caribbean island of Tobago, a narrow white-and-blue boat drifted onto the horizon.
Macron welcomes back to France journalist freed in Mali
March 21, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — A French journalist who was held hostage by Islamic extremists for nearly two years in Mali was welcomed home by French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, one day after his release.
US aid worker and French journalist freed in West Africa
March 20, 2023 GMTNIAMEY, Niger (AP) — An American aid worker and a French journalist kidnapped and held by Islamist extremists were freed and flown to Niger's capital Monday, four days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the country.
International Red Cross says 2 kidnapped staff freed in Mali
March 20, 2023 GMTOUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Two aid workers with the International Committee of the Red Cross were freed in Mali on Monday, the organization announced.
The staff members were released unharmed but the organization would not disclose the employees' identities or the circumstances of the abduction.
US Secretary of State Blinken visits Niger on Africa tour
March 16, 2023 GMTNIAMEY, Niger (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $150 million in direct assistance to Africa's Sahel region Thursday as he visited Niger, seeking to strengthen ties with a country that has so far avoided the recent spate of military coups and Russian mercenaries destabilizing its neighbors.
US trains West African militaries as jihadi threat spreads
March 10, 2023 GMTDAKAR, Senegal (AP) — As extremist violence in West Africa’s Sahel region spreads south toward coastal states, the United States military has launched its annual military training exercise aimed at helping armies contain the jihadi threat.
3 UN peacekeepers killed, 5 wounded by roadside bomb in Mali
February 22, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Three United Nations peacekeepers were killed and five others wounded by a roadside bomb in central Mali on Tuesday, according to the U.N.
The bomb struck a supply convoy near the village of Songobia, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali known as MINUSMA said in a statement.
France says its troops misrepresented in ‘Wakanda Forever’
February 13, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — France’s defense minister has denounced the way he says French soldiers deployed in Africa appear to be depicted in the Marvel Studios superhero film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as “false and misleading.”
Russia pledges military support to Mali during Lavrov visit
February 7, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pledged military support to Mali during his first visit to the West African nation Tuesday and dismissed criticism of Moscow's growing influence on the continent.
Mali orders UN human rights official to leave the country
February 6, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali's government has ordered the U.N. peacekeeping mission's human rights chief to leave the country by Tuesday, declaring him persona non grata in the latest sign of tensions between Mali's leaders and the international community.
World Health Organization employee released in Mali
February 3, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A World Health Organization employee was released in northern Mali after being abducted by unidentified assailants, a spokesperson said Friday.
Dr. Mahamadou Diawara was freed Thursday afternoon and is in Gao town, Abdoulaye Cisse, communication officer for the WHO in Mali told The Associated Press.
Experts seek investigation of Wagner Group, Mali forces
January 31, 2023 GMTGENEVA (AP) — Independent human rights experts working with the U.N. on Tuesday called for an investigation of possible abuses, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by government forces in Mali and the Wagner Group, a shadowy Russian military contractor.
Mali defends Russian ties and opposes options for UN force
January 28, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Mali’s foreign minister defended the military government’s cooperation with Russia on Friday and rejected three options proposed by the U.N. chief to reconfigure the U.N. peacekeeping force in the west African country where Al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups are driving insecurity.
Man sentenced to death in Mali for UN peacekeeper killings
January 26, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A Mali court sentenced a man to death for the killings of three United Nations peacekeepers almost four years ago, the U.N. mission in Mali said Thursday.
The court in Bamako imposed the death sentence for a February 2019 attack on five peacekeepers, three of whom died, the mission reported in a tweet.
World Health Organization employee abducted in northern Mali
January 24, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A World Health Organization employee was abducted by unidentified assailants in northern Mali, the U.N. agency's director-general said Tuesday.
Dr. Mahamadou Diawara was kidnapped from his car in the town of Menaka on Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.
UN: Al-Qaida and Islamic State driving insecurity in Mali
January 17, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups are driving insecurity in central Mali and continue to clash near populated areas in the northern Gao and Menaka regions, the U.N. chief said in a new report circulated Monday.
Violence soars in Mali in the year after Russians arrive
January 14, 2023 GMTDAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Alou Diallo says he was drinking tea with his family one morning last month when groups of “white soldiers” invaded his village in central Mali, setting fire to houses and gunning down people suspected of being Islamic extremists.
14 Malian soldiers killed by explosives in multiple attacks
January 12, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Coordinated attacks by Islamic extremists have killed 14 Malian soldiers and wounded nearly a dozen, the army said.
Multiple improvised explosive devices detonated between Dia and Diafarabe villages as well as between Koumara and Macina towns in central Mali, said Col.
49 Ivory Coast soldiers pardoned by Mali’s junta leader
January 6, 2023 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali's military junta leader on Friday pardoned 49 soldiers from neighboring Ivory Coast who were convicted of undermining Mali's state security and conspiracy against the government, authorities announced.
46 Ivorian soldiers sentenced to 20 years in Mali prison
December 30, 2022 GMTTIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) — Forty-six soldiers from Ivory Coast were sentenced to 20 years in prison for undermining state security in Mali and for attacks on Mali's government, the African nation's prosecutor general said Friday.
2 peacekeepers killed, 4 wounded in attack in Mali, UN says
December 17, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Two U.N. peacekeepers from Nigeria were killed and four others wounded in an attack Friday on a peace patrol in the town of Timbuktu in northern Mali, the United Nations said.
UN: Thousands in West, Central Africa could face starvation
December 16, 2022 GMTDAKAR, Senegal (AP) — More than 25,000 people could face starvation in conflict-plagued parts of West Africa next year, a United Nations official warned Friday.
Mauritanian indicted in 3 deadly 2015 terror attacks in Mali
December 10, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — A Mauritanian national suspected of planning and coordinating three lethal attacks in 2015 on Westerners in Mali was arraigned in a New York federal court on Saturday, a day after being transferred to U.S.
Attack on Mali camp for people fleeing violence kills 11
November 24, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — An attack by suspected Islamic extremists on a camp outside Gao sheltering individuals who had earlier fled violence in northern Mali has left 11 people dead, officials said Thursday.
Germany to wind down Mali military mission by mid-2024
November 22, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — The German government said Tuesday that it plans to wind down the country's participation in a U.N. military mission in Mali by the middle of 2024.
Mali govt bans aid groups receiving funds from France
November 22, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali's government has announced a ban on aid groups that are funded by France, the latest attempt by the coup leader in charge to distance the West African country from its one-time colonizer and former ally in the fight against Islamic extremism.
German priest abducted in Mali’s capital in rare kidnapping
November 21, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Suspected Islamic extremists have abducted a German priest in Mali's capital, colleagues said Monday, marking the first kidnapping of a Westerner in Bamako in more than a decade.
Ivory Coast to withdraw peacekeepers from Mali after arrests
November 15, 2022 GMTABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Ivory Coast will be gradually withdrawing its military contingent from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali after failing to secure the release of 46 Ivorian soldiers who have been accused of being mercenaries.
UK withdrawing troops from Mali peacekeeping mission
November 14, 2022 GMTLONDON (AP) — Britain announced Monday it is withdrawing its peacekeepers from Mali, saying the West African country’s growing reliance on Russian mercenaries is undermining stability.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said the 300-strong British force that has been stationed in Mali since 2020 as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission will leave earlier than planned.
UN: 6 UN peacekeepers wounded in explosions in central Mali
November 7, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Six U.N. peacekeepers were wounded in central Mali when two armored vehicles in a convoy were hit by separate improvised explosive devices, the United Nations said Monday.
Antibody treatment tested as new tool against malaria
November 1, 2022 GMTResearch in Africa found a one-time dose of an experimental drug protected adults against malaria for at least six months, the latest approach in the fight against the mosquito-borne disease.
Malaria killed more than 620,000 people in 2020 and sickened 241 million, mainly children under 5 in Africa.
Guinea junta agrees with bloc to hold vote in early 2025
October 22, 2022 GMTCONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — The government led by Guinea's coup leader reached an agreement late Friday with West African regional mediators on a schedule for holding new elections a little over two years from now.
Mali accuses France of `duplicitous acts’ which it denies
October 19, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Mali’s foreign minister accused former colonial power France on Tuesday of “duplicitous acts” of aggression and espionage aimed at destabilizing the troubled West African country -- allegations immediately dismissed by France’s U.N.
3 UN peacekeepers die in Mali roadside bomb attack
October 17, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Three U.N. peacekeepers from Chad have been killed in northern Mali after a roadside bomb exploded as the men approached on foot and several others were seriously wounded, officials said Monday.
Passenger bus hits improvised bomb in central Mali; 10 dead
October 14, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A passenger bus struck an improvised explosive device in central Mali, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens of others, authorities said Friday, blaming Islamic extremists with links to al-Qaida.
Burkina Faso coup supporters gather near regional mediation
October 4, 2022 GMTOUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Protesters waving Russian flags gathered in Burkina Faso's capital where West African regional envoys were meeting Tuesday to press the country's latest coup leaders to swiftly return the country to civilian rule.
Mali players apologize for fighting; FIBA investigating
September 27, 2022 GMTSYDNEY (AP) — Two Mali players have apologized for fighting in the mixed zone following their loss to Serbia on Monday at the women's World Cup.
The scuffle between Salimatou Kourouma and Kamite Elisabeth Dabou happened while they were walking through the postgame media area and was caught on film by Serbian media.
Bec Allen gets hurt as Australia beat Serbia 69-54
September 25, 2022 GMTSYDNEY (AP) — Bec Allen was instrumental in Australia's 69-54 win over Serbia scoring 16 points on Sunday in the World Cup.
But her status for the rest of the tournament is in question after getting hurt in the fourth quarter.
Mali prime minister lashes out at France, UN, regional bloc
September 24, 2022 GMTMali’s prime minister lashed out Saturday at former colonizer France, the U.N. secretary-general and many people in between, saying that the tumultuous country had been “stabbed in the back" by the French military withdrawal.
Burkina Faso coup-leader defends his military takeover to UN
September 23, 2022 GMTBurkina Faso's coup leader-turned-president defended his military takeover on Friday, though he acknowledged it was “perhaps reprehensible" and inconsistent with the United Nations' values.
Canada tops France to take control of group at World Cup
September 23, 2022 GMTSYDNEY (AP) — Nirra Fields scored 17 points and Shay Colley added 11 to help Canada beat France 59-45 on Friday in the women's basketball World Cup.
The victory moved Canada (2-0) into the driver's seat as the only unbeaten team left in its group.
Mali marks independence day amid tensions, uncertainty
September 22, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian authorities held a traditional military parade Thursday to make the country's first independence day celebration since French troops departed after nine years of fighting Islamic extremists in its one-time colony.
Mali launches air strikes after militants seize village
September 7, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The Malian military launched air strikes Wednesday near a village that witnesses said had been seized by extremists with ties to the Islamic State group.
Witnesses reported the takeover of Talataye, in Mali’s northern Gao region, on Tuesday.
Mali releases 3 Ivorian soldiers; 46 others still detained
September 3, 2022 GMTABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Three female Ivorian soldiers arrived home late Saturday after being detained for nearly two months in Mali, while 46 others remain jailed in a case that has heightened tensions between the West African neighbors.
Mali accuses France of colluding with Islamic extremists
August 18, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali's foreign minister is accusing France of having colluded with the same Islamic extremists that it spent nearly a decade fighting until its troops departed earlier this week, an allegation sharply denied by the French government.
UN investigator: Contemporary slavery extensive around globe
August 18, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. investigator says contemporary forms of slavery are widely practiced around the world, including forced labor for China’s Uyghur minority, bonded labor for the lowest caste Dalits in South Asia, and domestic servitude in Gulf countries, Brazil and Colombia.
Mali charges 49 Ivory Coast soldiers detained since July
August 15, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A Mali prosecutor says the 49 Ivory Coast soldiers held in Mali since July on accusations of being mercenaries have now been charged with undermining state security.
Mali’s prosecutor in the counterterrorism unit gave the update on the soldiers’ situation.
French military: Last group of soldiers has left Mali
August 15, 2022 GMTNICE, France (AP) — The last French army unit left Mali on Monday, according to a statement from the French military, nine years after Paris sent troops to the West African country to help drive Islamic extremists from power.
Monaco signs midfielder Camara from Salzburg on 5-year deal
August 14, 2022 GMTPARIS (AP) — Monaco signed midfielder Mohamed Camara from Austrian club Salzburg on a five-year deal on Sunday.
Monaco said the 22-year-old Mali midfielder has a contract until 2027. No financial details were given but French reports estimated Monaco paid 15 million euros ($15.4 million) for Camara, who has scored three goals in 15 appearances for Mali.
Germany suspends participation in Mali military mission
August 12, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Germany announced Friday that it was suspending its participation in a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali after the West African nation refused to grant a civilian aircraft carrying German troops permission to use its airspace.
Mali declares 3 days of mourning after attacks kill dozens
August 10, 2022 GMTBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian authorities declared three days of national mourning to begin Thursday after a pair of weekend attacks by Islamic extremist groups killed dozens of soldiers and police officers across the volatile West African country.
UN experts: Malian military and ‘white’ soldiers killed 33
August 6, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. experts said in a new report that Malian armed forces allegedly carried out an operation with “white-skinned soldiers” near the border with Mauritania in March, shooting and burning at least 33 civilians in one of several operations where the country’s ruling military appeared to work closely with likely Russian mercenaries.