Category Archives: Mali

Nearly three months since the European Union (EU) approved a 15-month training mission to rebuild a badly paid and poorly equipped Malian army, it remains poor, corrupt and barely functional, a French colonel said on Monday. The aim of the EU mission was to make the Malian army strong enough to fend off potential attacks by Islamist militants. But since this training commenced, corruption remains the rule in Malian ranks, soldiers are unable to train and some eight million euros ($10 million) pledged by international donors at a conference in Addis Ababa have not reached the army. “They’re managing misery.” Bruno Heluin, who runs training for Malian troops in the … Continue reading →

A French hostage has been executed in Mali, a man claiming to be a spokesman for al-Qaeda in North Africa told Mauritania’s ANI news agency. A French foreign office spokesman said late on Tuesday that they were trying to verify the report of the killing of Philippe Verdon, who was kidnapped in November 2011, adding that “we don’t know at the moment” whether it is reliable. In what ANI reported was a telephone call to the agency, which has close links to rebels, the commander said Philippe Verdon had been beheaded on March 10 “in response to the French military intervention in the north of Mali”, ANI reported. Verdon was … Continue reading →

French-backed Malian forces are facing pockets of resistance in northern Mali, after retaking control of the region last month. VOA’s French to Africa Service reports a contingent of troops from France, Mali and Niger on Thursday forced a small group of Islamist militants from Djebock, a town 45 kilometers northeast of Gao. Residents said they were being ‘terrorized’ by the militants. In another development, four Malian soldiers were killed after their vehicle hit a landmine. The blast occurred Wednesday on a road between Gao and Douentza. As France begins to wind down its Mali intervention, the United Nations is considering plans to assume control of an international peacekeeping force in … Continue reading →

French warplanes pounded Islamist rebel camps in the far north of Mali, military sources said, hours after French President Francois Hollande visited the West African country. Thierry Burkhard, spokesman for the French army in Paris, said on Sunday the overnight raids targeted logistics bases and training camps used by the al Qaeda-linked rebels to the north of the desert town of Kidal. “These were important air strikes,” Burkhard told Reuters. He said the bombing raids took place around the settlement of Tessalit, close to the Algerian border, one of the main gateways into the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains where the rebels are believed to be hiding after fleeing major towns. … Continue reading →

French and Malian troops were restoring government control over the fabled Saharan trading town of Timbuktu on Sunday, the latest gain in a fast-moving French-led offensive against al Qaeda-allied fighters occupying northern Mali. The Islamist militant rebels have pulled back northwards to avoid relentless French air strikes that have destroyed their bases, vehicles and weapons, allowing French and Malian troops to advance rapidly with air support and armoured vehicles. A Malian military source said the French and Malian forces reached “the gates of Timbuktu” late on Saturday without meeting resistance from the Islamist insurgents who had held the town since last year. The French and Malians controlled the airport and … Continue reading →