After accusing France of supporting Islamist militia groups at a UN Security Council meeting on 18 October, Bamako's foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop dialled down the rhetoric five days...

Mali's military junta plans to militarise the police and eliminate the right of police officers to strike and unionise, diplomatic sources have told Africa Confidential. Discussions are under...

Bamako's 10 July detention of 49 Ivorian soldiers who had flown in to change the guard at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (Minusma) airport...

Egypt plans to withdraw its combat convoy units from the Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (Minusma) UN peacekeeping force in Mali on...

Hardly had it been announced that West African leaders were lifting sanctions against Mali's military regime, when a new crisis flared, as the authorities arrested 49 Ivorian soldiers...

After several months of provoking and prolonging disputes with numerous partners, Mali's transitional government has found a new entity to pick a fight with – the United Nations...

Malian military ruler Colonel Assimi Goïta is determined to show that his forces can tackle a growing Islamist onslaught, despite the withdrawal of French and European troops, under...

'The G5 Sahel is dead.' This was the verdict of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum on 18 May, three days after the Malian military regime announced its withdrawal from...

Although he has just been released from a decade of service as one of France's most senior ministers by President Emmanuel Macron, Jean-Yves Le Drian is not expected...

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has presented West African governments with hard military choices, by proposing the African Union establish a new force that could replace the United Nations'...

The demise of the G5 Sahel Joint Force looks imminent, according to authoritative sources. The force always had a slight presence in the anti-jihadist campaign in the Sahel,...

Colonel Assimi Goïta's military regime is responding to mounting allegations of human rights violations by the national army and Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Group by lashing out...

The Commanders of Opération Barkhane and the European Special Forces' Takuba have begun to plan for their withdrawal from Mali. Earlier this month, Barkhane's French commander, General Laurent...

A cloud of anxiety hangs over the leaders of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali as they navigate a hostile military government, tumultuous developments in the Sahel and...

African and European officials have agreed to move the centre for counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel from Mali to Niger but questions remain about how to manage the...

As Russian mercenaries deploy to Mali to combat Islamist insurgents, the country can expect to be forced to pay an escalating bill, on top of seeing the operatives...

The colonels, in power since August 2020, seem impervious to international pressure, asserting they may need to stay in power for five more years, despite their earlier promise...