Mali

Five days after the release of Soumaïla Cissé, Sophie Pétronin and two Italian hostages of the Islamist and Muslim support group linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in exchange for jihadist fighters, there are still many questions surrounding this exchange. We know a little more every day about released jihadists in return for the four hostages. We now know their number. Having long cautiously claimed that there were several dozen, we now know with certainty that they were more than 200. Two hundred and six is…

Suspected Islamist militants killed 25 individuals, together with 13 troopers in a number of assaults in central Mali, burned down a military base and ambushed troops despatched as reinforcements, the military and native authorities mentioned on Tuesday. The assaults had been lethal because the August 18 army coup that toppled…

A military position in Sokoura, in the circle of Bankass, "was the subject of a terrorist attack" from Monday night to Tuesday, said the army, which reports a preliminary death toll of "nine dead" and wounded in its ranks ". A reinforcement sent to the scene then fell Tuesday morning into an ambush that left "three dead, ten wounded" and missing, according to the statement. as reported from Bamako, The Malian army faced two attacks. First, that of his camp in the center of the country, a few dozen kilometers from the…

Four days after the release of Sophie Pétronin, Soumaila Cissé and the two Italian hostages, the gray areas are still numerous. France assures it in any case: its role in this affair was only secondary. "The operation was carried out by the Malians, the terms of the negotiations were not carried out by France". This is the message conveyed by the Elysée while the conditions for the release of Sophie Pétronin raise questions. If the two countries' external services have worked together, it is Bamako who has kept control…

For almost a week, the people of the village of Farabougou, in central Mali, have been living through a blockade imposed by the jihadists. No one enters or leaves the village. This blockade is combined with a jihadist attack that left at least six dead and 22 wounded, while nine other people are still in the hands of the same jihadists, according to residents. as reported from Bamako, It all started last week with the kidnapping attributed to the jihadists from about twenty civilians from the Malian locality…

Last week, several Malian and international hostages were released in exchange for the release of several hundred prisoners. Among them are fighters involved in deadly attacks on the Malian army and two personalities considered leaders of the GSIM affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Sahel. For these releases, the discussions were bitter about certain names like Fawaz Ould Ahmed. Before he was arrested in 2016, this Mauretanian did a lot. Director of the al-Mourabitoune group, affiliated with Aqmi and founded by Mokhtar…

The release of the French hostage, Sophie Pétronin, put the spotlight on Westerners still being held in the Sahel. But next to them, there are also an unknown number of Malian and Sahelin hostages. Hostage participation of premises that are much less mentioned. This week, twenty people were kidnapped in the municipality of Farabougou, in the middle of the country. Nine of them were still selected this Sunday. These hostages, targeting anonymous Malians, are less talked about than Westerners or leading personalities such…

After moments of joy and effusion, following the release late last week in Mali of the three Western hostages and opposition leader Soumaïla Cissé, the continent's press is focusing on the underside of transactions on Monday. How many jihadists have been freed in exchange for hostages? Impossible to have an exact number. We're talking about 200 warriors. What is certain is that some of them met last Friday to celebrate their release. "The elements of GSIM, the support group for Islam and Muslims, wereted no time in…

At least five Western hostages are still being held captive in the Sahel. Among them the Colombian Gloria Cecilia Argoti, with whom Sophie Pétronin spent most of her captivity, or the Australian Arthur Kenneth Elliot. Back in France, the former French hostage was able to provide news about the health of some other hostages.…

Ghanaian head of state Nana Akufo-Addo, current president of the West African states (ECOWAS), declared on Sunday (October 11th) during her visit to Bamako that she had "good hope" that the Malian transitional authorities would respect their obligations. "At the moment, all the actions taken by the transitional authorities give…