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Mali security forces detain children

Agence France-PresseJune 17, 2013 14:00

Mali security forces are detaining children they accuse of working with militant groups, a UN envoy said Monday. Leila Zerrougui, UN special representative on children in conflict, called for international pressure on the Mali government to stop detentions and the use of under-age soldiers in the country's conflict. "We continue to receive worrying information on children being detained by the Malian security forces for alleged association with armed groups," Zerrougui told a special UN Security Council meeting on children in conflict organized by Britain.

Woman MP to run for Mali president

Agence France-PresseJune 16, 2013 11:00

A female lawmaker will run for president of Mali in elections due to be held in the troubled west African country next month. Aissata Cisse Haidara, 54, threw her hat into the ring on Saturday at a rally attended by several thousand supporters, mainly women and young people. "I am a candidate, not just to make up the numbers but to play a role in the rebuilding of the Mali, which has become an unrecognisable country today," she said.

Talks between Mali regime and Tuarag rebels extended

Agence France-PresseJune 13, 2013 03:31

International mediators failed Wednesday to convince Mali's president to sign a deal with northern Tuareg rebels that would pave the way for nationwide polls next month, with the talks now expected to take several more days. "We hope to secure a deal within days," Pierre Buyoya, head of the pan-African force fighting Islamist militants in Mali (Misma), said Wednesday.

Mali president to examine compromise peace deal

Agence France-PresseJune 12, 2013 16:31

The lead mediator in Mali peace talks was due in Bamako on Wednesday to present a compromise deal concluded with northern Tuareg rebels to Malian President Dioncounda Traore. Burkinabe Foreign Minister Djibrill Bassole left Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou aboard a UN aircraft for the Malian capital to meet with Traore "to lift the final obstacles" to the deal, as the United Nations said in Geneva the "human rights situation remains precarious" in the north.

Mali president to examine compromise peace deal

Agence France-PresseJune 12, 2013 13:40

Mediators in the Mali conflict arrived in Bamako Wednesday to seek President Dioncounda Traore's approval for a deal with northern Tuareg rebels that would pave the way for nationwide polls next month. Burkinabe Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole led a delegation to the Malian capital to ask Traore "to lift the final obstacles" to the deal, as the United Nations said the human rights situation "remains precarious" in the north.

Mali's Tuareg rebels ready to sign peace deal

Agence France-PresseJune 11, 2013 16:37

Rebels from Mali's minority Tuareg group are ready to sign a regionally brokered peace deal with the government paving the way for the conflict-torn country to hold elections, a source in their delegation said Tuesday. "We won't obstruct the process," the source told AFP. "When the time comes, we'll sign no problem," he added in neighbouring Burkina Faso, where a source in the Malian government's delegation earlier said the other side was also ready to sign a deal but wanted some final changes made. roh-tmo/jhb/fb

Malian troops advance on last rebel-held stronghold

Thomson ReutersJune 7, 2013 09:24

By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Malian special forces advanced towards the rebel-held town of Kidal on Thursday on a scouting mission ahead of a possible assault on the last stronghold of the Tuareg separatist MNLA, a day before peace talks were due to begin. Government troops captured a village about 100 km (60 miles) south of Kidal on Wednesday after heavy fighting, the first clashes with the rebels since France led a military offensive in January to drive out Islamists militants from northern Mali.

Mali army and Tuareg rebels clash in north: military sources

Agence France-PresseJune 5, 2013 14:38

Malian soldiers clashed with Tuareg separatists from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad Wednesday in a town south of the rebel-held regional capital of Kidal, military sources told AFP. "Our troops have engaged armed bandits in the Anefis area who have suffered heavy losses of men and vehicles," said Malian army spokesman Souleymane Maiga. The clashes were confirmed by the MNLA and a regional military source who said the Malian army hit rebel positions in the area at 8:00 am (0800 GMT).

Japan PM supports Mali's fight against Islamist militants

Kyodo News InternationalJune 3, 2013 04:15

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday expressed support for Mali's struggle against Islamist militants, reiterating Japan's newly unveiled policy of extending $1 billion in development and humanitarian assistance to the Sahel region over the next five years, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

Mali ex-PM's party accuses France of interfering

Agence France-PresseMay 28, 2013 09:16

The party of a leading Malian politician on Tuesday accused French President Francois Hollande of meddling in the country's politics and trying to turn an occupied northern region into a "French protectorate". Hollande sparked anger by saying France would ensure that people from Kidal, which is run by the separatist National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), would be allowed to take part in upcoming presidential elections.