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West Africa: Junta Withdraws From G5 Sahel Anti-Jihadist Force
RFI, 16 May 2022
Mali's military junta has announced that it will quit the West African G5 Sahel anti-jihadist force after it was blocked from assuming the presidency of the regional group. Read more »
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Mali: UN Chief Wants African Union Force With Tougher Mandate for Mali
RFI, 6 May 2022
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has told RFI Mali could collapse if the UN withdraws its peacekeeping mission there, but suggested an option could be to replace it with an… Read more »
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Africa: How Local Dialogues With Jihadists Took Root in Mali
The New Humanitarian, 4 May 2022
Aly Ongoiba* keeps meticulous notes on the conflict that consumed his commune - a maze of clay buildings and artfully thatched granaries spread across the top of a sandstone… Read more »
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Mali: Despite Security and Political Crises, UN Expert Remains Optimistic
UN News, 20 April 2022
Three weeks have passed since some 500 people were allegedly summarily executed in Moura, a village in central Mali - and UN investigators have yet to be granted access, the UN… Read more »
Mali Withdraws From G5 Sahel Anti-Terrorism Force
Mali's military junta has announced that it will quit the West African G5 Sahel anti-jihadist force, after it was blocked from assuming the presidency of the regional group.
This declaration deepens its isolation, after regional neighbours imposed sanctions on Bamako in January 2022 because the junta failed to commit to a timeline for a return to civilian rule.
The G5 Sahel, which also includes Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger, was launched in 2014, with an anti-jihadist force added in 2017.
The group's heads of state were supposed to meet in Bamako in February 2022 to see Mali assume the G5 presidency, but nearly four months later, this meeting "has still not taken place", the junta said.
The military initially seized control in August 2020 as the country's decade-long jihadist insurgency inflicted a spiralling death toll and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
A second de facto coup occurred in May 2021, when Assimi Goita pushed out an interim civilian government and took over the presidency.
The junta has opted for a two-year transition, while the Economic Community of West African States is pushing for a maximum of 16 months.
InFocus
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The European Union's (EU) foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on April 11, 2022 that the bloc will wind down some of its training of Mali's forces, casting further doubt on ... Read more »
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Research has shown that in the medium to long term, troop deployment supports democratisation efforts, eventually helping in the implementiion of a liberal-cosmopolitan order. ... Read more »
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A national conference in Burkina Faso has adopted a charter that will allow the junta that seized power in the West African state in January, 2022 to lead a three-year transition. ... Read more »
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Mali's military regime has strongly condemned West African sanctions, including border closures and a trade embargo, introduced in response to delays to a return to civilian Read more »
