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Mali defends Russian ties and opposes options for UN force

UNITED NATIONS — Mali’s foreign minister defended the military government’s cooperation with Russia on Friday and rejected three options proposed by the U.N. chief to reconfigure the U.N. peacekeeping force in the west African country where Al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups are driving insecurity. But Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ internal review released this week of the 17,500-strong U.N. mission, known …

UN: Mali pullout from counterterrorism force `unfortunate’

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.’s top political official for Africa called Mali’s decision to withdraw from the Sahel regional counterterrorism force “unfortunate and regrettable” Wednesday, especially at a time of increasing terrorist activity and insecurity. Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told the U.N. Security Council that this week’s decision by Mali’s ruling junta to leave the force “is most certainly a …

UN, Niger lament Mali’s withdrawal from G5 Sahel force

The decision to abandon the multinational effort may further isolate Bamako on the regional and global stage. The United Nations’ top political official for Africa has bemoaned Mali’s decision to withdraw from a multinational military force in West Africa’s Sahel region, calling the move “unfortunate and regrettable”. Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told a meeting of the UN’s Security Council on …

Force

Mali withdraws soldiers from regional counterterrorism force

BAMAKO, Mali — Mali’s ruling junta says it will withdraw from the regional counterterrorism force known as the G5 Sahel, further isolating itself while it remains under economic sanctions. The G5 Sahel force — which also includes soldiers from the neighboring West African states of Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Chad — was created in 2014 and actually deployed troops …

Mali G5 Sahel Sahel Force

Army spokesperson says the Russian soldiers are in the northern city to train Malian troops. Mali’s army spokesperson has said Russian soldiers have deployed to the northern city of Timbuktu to train Malian forces at a base vacated by French troops last month amid persistent insecurity in a country where large swaths of territory are out of the government’s control. …

Forces

The Muslim leader has emerged as the leader of an opposition movement seeking the Malian president’s departure. Dubbed “the people’s imam”, Dicko last year mobilised tens of thousands to force the departure of Mali’s prime minister. Dicko’s forays into the public sphere were part of a wider shift in the Muslim-majority country, Yahya added, as religious leaders became emboldened to …