Africa Europe Headlines International

Mali expels Sweden’s envoy over ‘hostile’ comment amid strained ties with the West

Mali has ordered Sweden’s ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours because of what it called a “hostile” statement by a Swedish minister, the West African country’s junta-ruled government said. Kristina Kuhnel, Sweden’s ambassador to Bamako, has been summoned on Friday August 9 and ordered to leave days after the country’s minister for international […]

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Ukraine to seek greater influence in Africa even after Mali, Niger cut ties with Kyiv

Mali and Niger have cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine due to a controversial statement by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR), with some observers warning that a harsh reaction from Burkina Faso is to be expected, given the latter’s strong allegiance to Mali and Niger. A single statement implicating Ukraine in the death of dozens of […]

Africa Europe Headlines International

Ukraine FM heads to Africa to rally support against Russia, as Mali cuts ties with Kyiv

Ukraine’s top diplomat has kicked off a three-country tour of Africa aiming to expand ties with the region that is increasingly looking toward Moscow, in a bid to drum up support for Ukraine’s military and diplomatic efforts in its ongoing conflict with Russia. The visit comes as Mali’s junta government announced on Sunday (4 August) […]

Africa Europe Headlines International

Mali: Ukrainian intel claims role in deadly ambush of Malian forces, Wagner mercenaries

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) has claimed it had provided the Tuareg separatist rebels with information that facilitated the devastating attack on Malian government troops and their allied mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group, now called Africa Corps. Mali’s military has acknowledged, in a rare admission of a defeat, that it had suffered a “large number” […]

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Germany’s top diplomat visits West Africa to mend ties amidst Sahel instability

Germany’s top diplomat has talked up the prospect of closer political ties with Senegal and the Ivory Coast, two of the last democracies in a region otherwise plagued by sectarian conflict, in the latest attempt by a senior EU politician to rebuild the bloc’s political influence in West Africa. Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is […]

Africa Headlines International

Mali lifts ban on political activity

Mali’s military rulers allowed political parties and the civil society to resume normalcy after a ban that was imposed in April. “The government decided to lift the suspension that barred political parties and the activities of political associations,” said a statement from the council of ministers. In August 2020, the Malian army staged a coup […]

Africa Headlines International

Military-ruled Sahel states create confederation, rule out return to ECOWAS

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger announced the creation of a confederation that will bring the three nations under one institutional umbrella, in a decision that signals a no-return to the West African regional bloc, the ECOWAS. The leaders of the three countries announced the confederation decision at a summit in Niamey, accusing ECOWAS of taking […]

Africa International

Mali: armed group kills at least 40 at wedding ceremony amid escalating violence

Dozens of guests, many of them young people, at a wedding ceremony have been killed by a group of unidentified armed men in an attack on a village in central Mali that has been struggling with violence from extremist groups for over a decade. Unidentified armed men cut the throats of approximately 40 people in […]

Africa Headlines International

Junta-led Sahel trio to hold first joint summit, likely to launch confederal union

The junta-leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are set to hold their first ever joint summit of the so-called ‘Alliance of Sahel States’ (AES) since seizing power in a series of coups in Niger’s capital Niamey this weekend. “Our country will be hosting on Saturday (6 July) the first summit of the AES heads […]

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Mali’s al-Qaida-linked Islamist leader convicted by ICC for war crimes in Timbuktu

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday (26 June) convicted an al-Qaida-linked jihadist who was accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during Islamist militants’ one-year rule over Mali’s Timbuktu in 2012. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud was found guilty of playing a key role in a reign of […]