Mali

(AP) — Two French soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in north-eastern Mali on Saturday, just days after three others died in similar fashion, the French presidency announced.

Three French soldiers were killed in Mali on Monday after their armored vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) during a counterterrorism operation in the West African country, the French government said.

A Berlin woman had said she forgives a Malian migrant currently on trial for biting off part of her mouth and nose over the summer in a city park and said she wants him to be set free. Malian migrant

The Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for the ambush of a military convoy in Burkina Faso November 11 that killed 14 soldiers.

(AFP) — France announced Friday that its anti-jihadist force in Mali had killed the military commander of an Al-Qaeda-aligned group linked to attacks in the region.

Jihadists with ties to the al-Qaeda terror network executed a Christian missionary after four years in captivity in the African nation of Mali, Swiss authorities reported Friday.

The Lebanese military released a statement on Monday that said teams of its investigators, assisted by French experts, have discovered 25 containers of hydrochloric acid and 54 containers of other dangerous materials at the Port of Beirut, which was devastated on August 4 by a massive explosion blamed on an improperly stored stockpile of ammonium nitrate.

Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned Tuesday after being held prisoner for a few hours, along with Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, by a force of mutinous soldiers.

(AFP) — France said its forces have killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in a blow to the group behind a string of deadly attacks across the troubled Sahel region.

PAU, France (AP) – France is preparing its military to better target Islamic extremists in a West African region that has seen a surge of deadly violence. But first, French President Emmanuel Macron is asking African heads of state to answer a key question: “Do you want us there?”

The United Nations has placed strict gender quotas on a British Army peacekeeping deployment to Mali in west Africa, demanding more females are sent under the auspices of a special bureaucratic directive.

Senegalese Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye has summoned journalists to help wake people up to the gravity of the jihad threat posed by Islamists.

PARIS (AP) – West African leaders need to make it clear they want and need France´s military presence, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday, just days after a helicopter collision killed 13 French soldiers fighting Islamic extremists in Mali last week.

Two helicopters collided in midair and killed 13 French soldiers fighting Islamic extremists in Mali, France said Tuesday, in its biggest loss since its mission in West Africa´s Sahel region began in 2013.

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