Mali

West Africa becomes global terrorism hotspot as Western forces leave

The Sept. 17 attack was the most brazen since 2016 in a capital city in the Sahel, a vast arid region stretching across sub-Saharan Africa south of the Sahara Desert

Updated On : 24 Sep 2024 | 12:16 PM IST

ICC issues verdicts in trial of alleged Islamic extremist charged in Mali

The International Criminal Court is delivering its verdict Wednesday in the trial of a suspect accused of playing a key role in a reign of terror unleashed by al-Qaida-linked insurgents on the historic desert city of Timbuktu in northern Mali in 2012. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted on charges including involvement in crimes including rape, torture, persecution, enforced marriages and sexual slavery committed from April 2012 until the end of January 2013 in the city once known as the Pearl of the Desert. Prosecutors say he was a key member of Ansar Dine, an Islamic extremist group with links to al-Qaida that held power in northern Mali at the time. Women and girls suffered in particular under Ansar Dine's repressive regime, facing corporal punishment and imprisonment, the court's then-chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said at the start of Al Hassan's trial nearly four years ago. Many were forced into ...

Updated On : 26 Jun 2024 | 1:44 PM IST

Labourers, vendors in Mali struggle amid deadly heat wave in West Africa

Street vendors in Mali's capital of Bamako peddle water sachets, ubiquitous for this part of West Africa during the hottest months. This year, an unprecedented heat wave has led to a surge in deaths, experts say, warning of more scorching weather ahead as effects of climate change roil the continent. The heat wave began in late March, as many in this Muslim majority country observed the holy Islamic month of Ramadan with dawn-to-dusk fasting. On Thursday, temperatures in Bamako reached 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) and weather forecasts say it's not letting up anytime soon. The city's Gabriel-Tour Hospital reported 102 deaths in the first four days of the month, compared to 130 deaths in all of April last year. It's unknown how many of the fatalities were due to the extreme weather as such data cannot be made public under the regulations imposed by the country's military rulers. Cheikh A Traor, Mali's general director for health, said significantly more elderly people have di

Updated On : 19 Apr 2024 | 1:14 PM IST

Mali's junta bans media from reporting political activities in country

In a deepening crackdown, Mali's ruling junta on Thursday banned the media from reporting on activities of political parties and associations, a day after suspending all political activities in the country until further notice. The order, issued by Mali's high authority for communication, was distributed on social media. The notice said it applied to all forms of the media, including television, radio, online and print newspapers. Mali has experienced two coups since 2020, leading a wave of political instability that has swept across West and Central Africa in recent years. Along with its political troubles, the country is also in the grip of a worsening insurgency by militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. The scope of the ban or how it would be applied in practice was not immediately clear. It was also not known if journalists would still be allowed to report on issues such as the economy, which are closely tied to politics and who would monitor their work. Th

Updated On : 12 Apr 2024 | 9:32 AM IST

Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso withdraw from West Africa's regional bloc

Three West African nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have withdrawn from the regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS, their respective juntas announced Sunday, accusing the bloc of inhumane sanctions to reverse the coups in their nations. The juntas said in a joint statement read on state television that they have decided in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), alleging that the bloc has moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism after nearly 50 years of its establishment. Furthermore, ECOWAS, under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to its member states and its populations whose happiness it is supposed to ensure, their statements read. It is the latest twist in a series of events that have deepened political tension in West Africa since it experienced its latest of a string of coups in Niger

Updated On : 28 Jan 2024 | 8:19 PM IST

Russia vetoes UN Security Council resolution on sanctions against Mali

Russia has vetoed the United Nations Security Council resolution, drafted by France and UAE, on sanctions against Mali, TASS has reported.Thirteen Security Council members voted in favour of a resolution to extend the UN sanctions and independent monitoring for another year. Russia cast a veto, while China abstained from voting on Wednesday.The sanction regime, which has been in place since 2017, was proposed to be extended until August 31, 2024. Russia is adamant that this extension should be the final one.Before the vote, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya stated that it would be counterproductive to adopt the resolution proposed by the United Arab Emirates and France "not only in terms of ensuring the efficiency of the sanction regime but also for the peace process in Mali" given Bamako's official request to lift the sanctions regime, as reported by TASS, the Russian news agency.Later on Wednesday, the Security Council's 15 members cast votes on the two ...

Updated On : 31 Aug 2023 | 7:16 AM IST

Mali's top diplomat demands UN peacekeepers leave country after over 10 yrs

Mali's top diplomat demanded on Friday that UN peacekeepers who have been in this West African country grappling with an Islamic insurgency for more than a decade leave immediately, claiming they had failed in their mission. Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop made the request in a speech to the United Nations Security Council. He said the UN mission had not achieved its objectives and was sowing distrust among the people. Mali has struggled to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. Extremist rebels were forced from power in Mali's northern cities the following year, with the help of a French-led military operation, but they regrouped in the desert and began launching attacks on the Malian army and its allies. The UN peacekeepers a contingent of more than 15,000 came in a few months later in what has become one of the most dangerous UN missions in the world. At least 170 peacekeepers have been killed in the country since 2013, according to the UN. The Malian government a