Mali

FILE - People take to the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on Jan. 25, 2022 to rally in support of the new military junta that ousted democratically elected President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and seized control of the country. The military juntas ruling Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger say they have agreed to create a joint force to fight extremist violence in their nations. No details of how the force will operate have been released, even though the countries are experiencing financial difficulties with overstretched militaries. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)

Juntas ruling Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence

The military juntas ruling Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger say they have agreed to create a joint force to fight extremist violence in their nations.

Rocco Antonio Langone, centre, his wife Maria Donata Caivano and his son Giovanni arrive at Ciampino at military airport, in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. The Italian family who was kidnapped by an al Qaida-linked group on May 19, 2022 in their home on the outskirts of the city of Koutiala, south-east of the capital of Mali, Bamako, were freed last night, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

An Italian family of three is back in Rome following two years of captivity in Mali

FILE - Mali Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Mali’s junta has terminated the 2015 peace deal with the Tuareg rebel groups “with immediate effect” because the rebels have failed to comply with its terms and because of “acts of hostility” by Algeria, which has been the main mediator in the peace efforts, government spokesperson Col. Abdoulaye Maiga said on state television on the night of Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

Mali ends crucial peace deal with rebels, raising concerns about a possible escalation in violence

FILE - An unidentified representative of the junta waves from a military vehicle as Malians supporting the overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita gathers to celebrate in the capital Bamako, Mali., on Aug. 21, 2020. Mali recalled its ambassador in Algeria after accusing it of interference in its internal affairs by meeting rebel leaders, officials said Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, deepening diplomatic tensions between the two neighbors over efforts to end the armed rebellion in northern Mali. (AP Photo, File)

Mali recalls its envoy in Algeria after alleging interference, deepening tensions over peace efforts

U.N. MINUSMA troops from Bangladesh hoist down the U.N flag for the last time at a departure ceremony held in Bamako, Mali, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. The United Nations has ended its 10-year peacekeeping mission in Mali following the government's request that alleged the force was inadequate to respond to growing violent extremism in the West African nation. ( Serge Ouedraogo/MINUSMA via AP)

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali ends after 10 years, following the junta’s pressure to go

Released hostages back in Italy after captivity in Mali

Three members of an Italian family kidnapped and held hostage in Mali since May 2022 returned to Rome on Tuesday, Feb.27 to an emotional reunion. (AP Video: Andrea Rosa, Veronica Sauchelli)

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A bus accident in southern Mali has left at least 31 people dead, the government says

Mali’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure says at least 31 people were killed and 10 others injured when a driver lost control of a passenger bus in southern Mali.

At least 15 Catholic worshippers were killed in an attack during a service in northern Burkina Faso

Catholic church officials in Burkina Faso say that at least 15 worshippers have been killed in a village when gunmen attacked a community as they gathered for prayers in the country’s conflict-hit northern region.

More than 70 are dead after an unregulated gold mine collapsed in Mali, an official says

An official in Mali says that more than 70 people have been killed after an unregulated gold mine collapsed late last week.

FILE - A Culex tarsalis mosquito is shown at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District on Aug. 28, 2023, in Salt Lake City. Mosquitoes can carry viruses including dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika. Dengue fever is on the rise in Mali, where officials are reporting new infections and deaths from the virus this week. Mali’s director general of health and public hygiene, Dr. Cheick Amadou Tidiane Traore, told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday Dec. 6, 2023 that his department had counted 21 deaths and 600 cases of the virus as of Monday. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Dengue fever is on the rise in Mali with more than 20 deaths, health director says

Authorities say dengue fever is on the rise in Mali, posing a new threat to the West African nation struggling with extremist attacks and political turbulence.

FILE- An aerial view shows a camp of internally displaced people in Djibo, Burkina Faso, May 26, 2022. Videos published by the state-run RTB Television Tuesday, Nov, 28, 2023, showed large groups of people riding motorcycles around a swathe of desert land as they appeared to be running from aerial bombardments. It was not immediately clear the number of civilians and security forces killed during the Sunday attack near Mali's border and involving about 3,000 rebels, according to the broadcaster. The Associated Press could not confirm the authenticity of the videos. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Burkina Faso’s state media says hundreds of rebels have been killed trying to seize vulnerable town

Burkina Faso’s state broadcaster reports that hundreds of rebels were killed as they tried to seize a town in the northern part of the country on Sunday.

An abducted German priest is freed in Mali, a year after being seized in the country’s capital

A German priest who was abducted by al-Qaida-linked rebels in Mali’s capital in November 2022 has been released by his captors.

FILE - Nigeriens, some holding Russian flags, participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, on July 30, 2023. Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance described by some analysts on Friday as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors. In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings Thursday Nov. 23, 2023 with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

A newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa’s Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy

Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance which some analysts describe as an attempt to legitimize their military governments.

Mali’s leader says military has seized control of a rebel stronghold in the country’s north

Mali’s leader says the military has seized control of a Tuareg rebel stronghold in the country’s north.

Suspected Islamic extremists holding about 30 ethnic Dogon men hostage after bus raid, leader says

A community leader in central Mali says that suspected Islamic extremists are holding about 30 men hostage after an attack on several buses earlier this week.

Kidal mayor says 14 people dead in northern Mali after series of drone strikes near rebel stronghold

The mayor of Kidal says at least 14 people are dead after a series of drone strikes around the town in northern Mali.

FILE - Saga Saganla, 30, from Diawely, lies on his bed at Somine Dolo hospital in Mopti, Mali, Friday June 24, 2022. Saganla survived an attack by nearly 100 jihadis on motorbikes. Top human rights groups have released new reports in which they documented cases of “war crimes” against civilians in the violent conflict in Africa’s Sahel region where rebels are increasingly fighting in communities under siege. The reports focusing on Burkina Faso and Mali were separately released this week by the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. (AP Photo/ Hamidou Saye, File)

Rights groups report widespread war crimes across Africa’s Sahel region with communities under siege

Rights groups say in new reports that security forces and armed groups are committing alleged war crimes against civilians in Africa’s Sahel region where extremists and rebels are increasingly fighting to exert dominance and control resources in communities.

UN peacekeepers have departed a rebel stronghold in northern Mali early as violence increases

United Nations peacekeepers have withdrawn from a rebel stronghold in northern Mali weeks earlier than planned because of growing insecurity.

FILE - United Nations peacekeepers stand guard at the entrance to a polling station covered in separatist flags and graffiti supporting the creation of the independent state of Azawad, in Kidal, Mali on July, 27, 2013. United Nations peacekeepers started departing from two bases in northern Mali Monday Oct. 16, 2023 as part of a forced withdrawal from the country amid increasing insecurity and a rise in attacks by Islamic extremists. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

U.N. peacekeepers in Mali withdraw from two bases in the north as fighting intensifies

The United Nations says its peacekeepers have started departing from two bases in northern Mali as part of a forced withdrawal from the country and amid increasing insecurity.

FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta gather at the start of a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 3, 2023. At least 29 Nigerien soldiers have been killed by jihadis near the country’s border with Mali, Niger's junta said late Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, as they struggle to end a spate of attacks. The junta, which took over power after a July coup against Niger’s democratically elected government, declared a three-day national mourning period for the dead. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Niger’s junta says jihadis kill 29 soldiers as attacks ramp up

Niger’s junta says at least 29 Nigerien soldiers have been killed by jihadis near the country’s border with Mali, the latest of growing attacks that the country’s new junta is struggling to end.

Rebels in Mali say they’ve captured another military base in the north as violence intensifies

Tuareg rebels in Mali say they have captured another military base from the army in the country’s north, as fighting intensifies.

Mali’s military government postpones a presidential election intended to restore civilian rule

A spokesperson says Mali’s military-led government has postponed a presidential election that was expected to return the West African nation to democracy following a 2020 coup.

FILE - United Nation forces patrol the streets of Timbuktu, Mali, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. Mali’s military regime is struggling to fight growing violence in the West African nation's hard-hit northern region. That's after a peace deal signed several years ago with rebels appeared to have collapsed and as the United Nations peacekeepers who helped fight jihadi groups begin to leave. Attacks in northern Mali have more than doubled since U.N. peacekeepers completed the first phase of their withdrawal in Aug. 2023, after a decade of fighting Islamic extremists, resulting in more than 150 deaths. (AP Photo/Moulaye Sayah, File)

Mali’s junta struggles to fight growing violence in a northern region as UN peacekeepers withdraw

Mali’s military junta is struggling to fight growing violence in the West African nation’s hard-hit northern region.

At least 10 Malian soldiers killed in latest attack in hard-hit northern region

Authorities in Mali say at least 10 government soldiers were killed Tuesday during an attack by armed groups, as the country grapples with ongoing deadly violence in the hard-hit region.

This undated photograph released by the Compagnie Malienne de Navigation (COMANAV) shows their boat called Tombouctou at dock on the Niger River in Mali. A Malian government statement said the passenger boat was attacked near the village of Zarho, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of Timbuktu Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. Al-Qaida-linked insurgents killed 49 civilians and 15 government soldiers in two separate assault, the boat, and a military camp, the military said. (Comanav via AP)

Mali military camp is attacked a day after 49 civilians and 15 soldiers were killed in assaults

A military camp in Mali’s restive north has been attacked a day after two separate assaults by al-Qaida-linked insurgents killed 49 civilians and 15 government soldiers.

FILE - Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt attends the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, on June 21, 2023. The Norwegian embassy in Bamako would shut down by the end of the year. Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said Thursday Aug. 31, 2023 that Oslo would have ”to find other ways to follow up our interests in Mali moving forward.” The diplomatic mission was also representing Norway in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. (Hannah McKay/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Norway will close its embassy in Mali, citing the security situation

Norway is closing its embassy in Mali by the end of the year, citing the security situation in the West African country.

Russia’s actions at U.N. terminate Mali sanctions and panel of experts reporting, recently on Wagner

Mali’s military junta succeeded in kicking out the U.N. peacekeeping force, and on Wednesday its Russian allies scored yet another victory against the U.N.: They were able to terminate all U.N. sanctions on Malians and abolish a panel of experts which has been critical of activities of Russia’s Wagn

FILE - United Nations forces patrol the streets of Timbuktu, Mali, on Sept. 26, 2021. The United Nations is in the throes of what Secretary-General António Guterres calls an “unprecedented” six-month exit from Mali on orders of the West African nation’s military junta, which has brought in mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group to help fight an Islamic insurgency. (AP Photo/Moulaye Sayah, File)

The UN is undertaking an unprecedented 6-month withdrawal of nearly 13,000 peacekeepers from Mali

The United Nations is in the throes of what Secretary-General António Guterres calls an “unprecedented” six-month exit from Mali on orders of the West African nation’s military junta, which has brought in mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group to help fight an Islamic insurgency.

Niger’s junta seeks to strengthen its grip on power and prepare for possible regional intervention

The mutinous soldiers who overthrew democratically elected Niger President Mohamed Bazoum have announced a raft of measures over the weekend that analysts say are aimed at strengthening their grip on power while preparing to defend against any military attempt by regional leaders to reinstate Bazoum

FILE - A sign on the northern road exiting in Gao, Northern Mali, reads "welcome to the islamic state of Gao on Jan. 30, 2013. Islamic State extremists have almost doubled the territory they control in Mali in less a year, and their al-Qaida-linked rivals are also capitalizing on the deadlock and perceived weakness of armed groups that signed a 2015 peace agreement, United Nations experts said in a new report.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

UN experts say Islamic State group almost doubled the territory they control in Mali in under a year

Islamic State extremists have almost doubled the territory they control in the West African country of Mali in less than a year.

US warns military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel hamper fight against terrorism in the volatile region

The United States is warning that the string of military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel region will hamper the fight against terrorism.

Gunmen kill at least 23 in an attack on a village in central Mali

Local officials in central Mali say gunmen killed at least 23 people and wounded a dozen others in an attack on a village.

FILE- A United Nations vehicle is seen on the MINUSMA Main Operations Base in Bamako, Mali, June 23, 2018. The pending pullout of U.N. peacekeepers from Mali is creating worries about what the withdrawal will mean for thousands of citizens who built livelihoods at and around the mission's bases.(Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP-File)

Malians who thrived with arrival of UN peacekeeping mission fear economic fallout from its departure

The pending pullout of U.N. peacekeepers from Mali is creating worries about what the withdrawal will mean for thousands of citizens who built livelihoods at and around the mission’s bases.

File - Sudanese refugees who fled the conflict in Sudan gather Monday, July 10, 2023, at the Zabout refugee Camp in Goz Beida, Chad. Some 260,000 people have fled Darfur into neighboring Chad after RSF fighters and allied Arab militias stormed a number of cities and towns, burning houses and driving out residents. (Pierre Honnorat/WFP via AP, File)

Niger adds to growing list of countries in the Sahel run by the military

Mutinuous soldiers in Niger have overthrown the nation’s democratically elected government, adding it to a growing list of countries in West Africa’s Sahel region where military regimes rule.

Supporters of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum demonstrate in his support in Niamey, Niger, Wednesday July 26 2023. Governing bodies in Africa condemned what they characterized as a coup attempt Wednesday against Niger's president, whose official Twitter account reported that elements of the presidential guard engaged in an "anti-Republican demonstration" and tried to obtain the support of other security forces. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

How the coup in Niger could expand the reach of Islamic extremism, and Wagner, in West Africa

More than 1,000 U.S. service personnel are in Niger to combat the growing threat from various groups of Islamic extremists.

West Africa recorded over 1,800 terrorist attack in first six months of 2023, regional official says

West Africa has recorded over 1,800 terrorist attacks in the first six months of the year resulting in nearly 4,600 deaths with dire humanitarian consequences.