The Latest Breaking News from Mali

Government ministers from France and Niger met in Niamey on Friday as French forces reorganise their mission in the Sahel following a planned pullout from Mali.

In the Sahel, the number of informal mines is rising as gold mining areas escape state control. Mali is emerging as a gold-purchasing hub for Sahelian countries, while Dubai has become the main destination for artisanal gold production from the African continent. From the hidden smelters of Bamako to the…

The Sahel – a 5,000km long strip of the African continent stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea – has become the most neglected and conflict-ridden part of the planet. Millions of people have been displaced in the region. Mass murders and property destruction occur almost daily.

Malian authorities have arrested 49 soldiers from Cote d’Ivoire, describing them as mercenaries who were planning to stop the protection and reform of the country.

The Anglophone pivot comes on the back of successive coups in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso to dump pro-French leaders.

Malian authorities arrested nearly 50 soldiers from Ivory Coast who came to Mali to work for a contracting company of the United Nations mission in Mali. The government made the announcement Monday calling the Ivorian soldiers “mercenaries,” in a move that could raise tensions between the two West African countries.

The country is emerging as a critical ally in a neighbourhood of failing states

Thousands have exchanged fighting between government forces, jihadists and mercenaries linked to Russia, for the meagre security of border camps

Sixty-one others were rescued and those healthy enough were taken to a detention centre in Libya.