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France withdraws first batch of soldiers from Mali

April 9, 2013 07:06
France has withdrawn its first batch of soldiers from Mali, the army said Tuesday, as it begins to pull out troops sent to battle Islamist fighters in the west African nation. Paris -- which sent 4,000 troops to Mali in January to block a feared advance on the capital Bamako from the north by Islamist fighters -- is preparing to hand over to a UN-mandated African force of 6,300 in the coming weeks.

France wants to keep 1,000 soldiers in Mali permanently

April 8, 2013 17:00
By Adama Diarra and John Irish BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - France has proposed keeping a permanent force of 1,000 French troops in Mali to fight armed Islamist militants, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Friday. Fabius, on a visit to Bamako, said France was pushing ahead with plans to reduce its 4,000-strong military presence from the end of this month but planned to keep a combat force in Mali to support a future U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Malian Arabs attempt to unify under new group

April 8, 2013 14:46
The diverse communities of Arabs in northern Mali have unified under a new organisation claiming to represent the interests of all Malian Arabs, it said in a statement obtained by AFP on Monday. "The Convergence of Arab Movements and Associations for the Unity and Development of Azawad" was formed after a conference on April 5 and 6 in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, the statement from its founders said.

Tuareg rebels in Mali must disarm 'when time comes'

April 6, 2013 09:33
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Friday that Tuareg separatists in Mali would have to accept giving up arms along with other armed groups in the restive north. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) has abandoned its decades-old rebellion for independence to help France push out Islamic extremists who overran northern Mali. But it has refused to allow Malian troops to enter the small desert city of Kidal, 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) northeast of the capital Bamako, which is a traditional Tuareg stronghold.

France reassures Mali over troop withdrawal

April 5, 2013 22:30
The French foreign minister reassured Mali on Friday that France was not planning an "overnight" withdrawal of the troops it sent to liberate the west African nation from Al-Qaeda-linked rebels. Laurent Fabius, in Bamako to discuss the pullout scheduled for the end of April, said France would provide a permanent "support force" of 1,000 French soldiers after elections that the deeply-divided country has promised for July.

France reassures Mali over troop withdrawal

April 5, 2013 17:45
The French foreign minister reassured Mali on Friday that France was not planning an "overnight" withdrawal of the troops it sent to liberate the west African nation's north from Al-Qaeda-linked rebels. Laurent Fabius was in Bamako to discuss the pullout scheduled for the end of April with government and military figures including Prime Minister Diango Cissoko, who vowed that deeply-divided Mali was committed to holding July elections.

Tuareg rebels in Mali must disarm 'when time comes'

April 5, 2013 13:00
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in the Malian capital Bamako on Friday that Tuareg separatists from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) should "in time" accept being confined and giving up their arms. "When the time comes every group, the MNLA as much as any other armed group, will have to accept being confined (to cantonments) and giving up its arms," Fabius told a press conference. cf/stb/ft/bm

France reassures Mali over troop withdrawal

April 5, 2013 12:20
The French foreign minister reassured Mali on Friday that France was not planning an "overnight" withdrawal of the troops it sent to liberate the west African nation's north from Al-Qaeda-linked rebels. Laurent Fabius was in Bamako to discuss the pullout scheduled for the end of April with government and military figures including Premier Diango Cissoko, who vowed that deeply-divided Mali was committed to holding July elections.

Niger students protest French group's uranium revenues

April 5, 2013 11:52
Some 2,000 students held a protest in Niger's capital Niamey on Friday against French nuclear group Areva to demand their country get a bigger slice of its uranium mining revenues. Marchers held aloft placards saying "No to exploitation and neo-colonialism" and "No to Areva". "The partnership in the mining of uranium is very unbalanced to the detriment of our country," said Mahamadou Djibo Samaila, secretary general of the Union of Niamey University Students that organised the protest.

Mali troops sweep Timbuktu for Islamists after deadly battle

April 1, 2013 08:45
Malian troops swept Timbuktu for remaining Islamist fighters on Monday after a weekend battle that left seven people dead and saw France send in fighter jets. Some gunfire was heard on Monday but the fabled Saharan city was mostly calm, and residents began to emerge from their homes after barricading themselves in when the fighting broke out. The militants used the confusion created by a suicide bomber late on Saturday to infiltrate the city and engage French and Malian troops in a day-long battle that left four more rebels, a soldier and a civilian dead.
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