Mali

Pope Francis prayed publicly for the Christians massacred recently in Nigeria and Mali as the Vatican celebrated a day of remembrance for martyred missionaries Sunday.

Prime Minister of Mali Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga is expected to visit Israel in the coming weeks, reported Israel’s Channel 13 on Monday.

Algeria is closing its southern border to Syrian migrants, citing security concerns.

Contents: Al-Qaeda linked JNIM attacks two peacekeeper camps in Timbuktu, Mali; Canada debates whether there’s any point to a peacekeeping force; Thousands of Mali refugees flee into Burkina Faso to escape ethnic violence

Contents: Burkina Faso terror attack targets France’s anti-terror Operation Barkhane; China pushes to invest heavily in Iraq’s energy infrastructure; African Cédric Bakambu joins China’s Sinobo Guoan Football Club

A Colombian nun held hostage by al-Qaeda’s branch in the African country of Mali is purportedly shown begging for Pope Francis to help liberate her in a video released by the jihadist group, reveals the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors jihadi websites.

Contents: Jihadists attack UN peacekeepers in Mali just as UN demands that Mali implement peace agreement; War becomes more likely as Mali enters a generational Crisis era

Contents: Britain and France renew 1904 Entente Cordiale with new military agreement; Britain will pay £44.5 million to renew the Le Touquet migration agreement

Contents: CNN investigation finds thriving slave trade in Libya; Italy defends its role in Libya’s slave trade

Contents: US expands military counter terrorism efforts in Africa after death of soldiers in Niger; US and Niger dispute the facts about the four soldiers’ deaths

A month after an ambush by militants aligned with the Islamic State killed four American special forces operators and at least four Nigerien troops, Niger has asked the United States to deploy armed drones to hunt down jihadis along the border with Mali.

Contents: Dozens killed in Mogadishu, Somalia, bombings, two weeks after hundreds killed; Somalia attack comes as Niger ambush leads to review of US military aims in Africa

Contents: Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) blamed for deaths of US troops in Niger; Jihadist ambush in Niger forces a review of military operations in Africa

A joint U.S.-Nigerian patrol came under attack near the border with Mali on Wednesday, resulting in the death of three American Green Berets and one other soldier from an unspecified “partner nation.” Two other U.S. soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Contents: Jihadist attacks on UN peacekeepers surge in Mali; JNIM (Group for Support of Islam and Muslims) takes credit for attacks

Contents: Jihadists attack multiple targets in Mali and Burkina Faso; France calls for international peacekeeping in G5 Sahel force

Contents: France’s new president Macron commits troops to Mali ‘as long as necessary’; UN peacekeeping forces grow as jihadist attacks increase and Mali A riddle

GAO, Mali (AP) — On his first official trip outside Europe, new French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday highlighted his determination to crush extremism but said “other countries can do more” to help protect Europe from the threat. He was visiting France’s largest overseas military operation, which is combating jihadist groups in West Africa.

Local officials said a couple accused of adultery in northern Mali was executed in public by stoning on Tuesday for “violating Islamic law.”

Contents: Thousands of migrants risk freezing to death as deep freeze spreads across Europe; Migrants in eastern Europe trapped in deep freeze temperatures; European Commission resettlement plan appears to be a disaster

TEL AVIV – After signing an $100,000 deal with Israel, Germany carried out its first successful mission last week in Mali using the Israeli-made Heron 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Contents: International Criminal Court gets conviction for ‘cultural genocide’ in Timbuktu Mali; In an embarrassing turnaround, Russia removes its bombers from Iran; Turkey begins to fully enter the war in Syria militarily

Contents: Yet another terrorist bombing in Ankara Turkey kills 34; AQIM takes credit for armed terror attack on Ivory Coast beach resort

A new wave of Christians have been driven from their homes in northern Mali by an upsurge in anti-Christian persecution from Islamic jihadists in the beleaguered West African nation.

The Saharan nation of Burkina Faso was the scene of the latest terrorist hostage crisis, as al-Qaeda fighters staged a hotel raid similar to the November attack in Mali. This time, the death toll included 28 people from 18 different countries, plus 50 civilians wounded, and 156 hostages freed.

Contents: Germany may deploy 1200 soldiers to Syria to fight ISIS; In major new escalation, US special forces will conduct combat in Iraq and Syria

TEL AVIV – Mokhtar Belmokhtar, leader of Al Murabitoon, an al-Qaeda affiliate operating in West Africa, is thought to be behind the deadly assault on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali on Friday.

Contents: China blocks Miss World Canada from attending Miss World pageant; ASEAN leaders harshly criticize China over South China Sea actions; Occupied Crimea declares state of emergency after electricity is cut

The terrorist attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali (a former French colony) offers another grim reminder to those in the West of the wide and lethal reach of practitioners of radical Islamic extremism, notwithstanding recent claims to the contrary of U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Contents: Terror groups compete for credit for Mali hotel attack; Mali hotel terror attack highlights al-Qaeda’s strength in Africa