terrorism

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…

Several hostages in the hands of jihadists were released on Thursday. Among them the leader of the Malian opposition. Soumaïla Cissé was kidnapped in March 2020 in the north of the country while fighting for the legislative election. And that is the relief in Mali after his release. as reported from Bamako For Soumaïla Cissé, it's a first day of freedom. The leader of the Malian opposition has returned home since Wednesday night after more than six months in captivity. "Physically, I have no problem. I feel good.…

The plane with ex-hostages Sophie Pétronin has just landed at Villacoublay airport near Paris. The flight had started a few hours earlier from Bamako, Mali. Franco-Suisse spent almost four years in captivity in the Sahel. She was greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron. With our special envoys to Villacoublay, Marine from…

This release comes less than two months after the CNSP's military coup, the junta that brought down President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. Yet it was under the old regime that the negotiations were actively launched, but the moment of effective liberation necessarily favors the current strong men in Mali. The release of Soumaïla Cissé in Mali had become a national, transpartisan, unifying cause. While this is clearly not the primary goal, the associated political gain is indisputable. But to whom can this success be…

The release of Sophie Pétronin and Soumaïla Cissé completes an operation whose underside remains unclear. Prior to the release on the weekend of October 3 and 4, by the new Malian authorities, a significant number of prisoners - more than 200 years old, according to an al-Qaeda news agency - were presented by Malian officials as well as jihadists. Was the release of the jihadists as a bargaining chip…

Twenty people are still missing, according to local authorities, after the attack, which was aimed at a convoy of IDPs returning to their hometowns in the North-Central region. The attack took place overnight Monday through Tuesday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees mentions at least 25 people killed. as reported from Ouagadougou, These people had fled attacks by armed groups. Thinking of a lull, they had decided to return to their hometown. The convoy consisted of about fifty internally displaced…

Seven years after the attack on the Westgate shopping center in Nairobi, the verdict in the only trial since the attack on Tuesday is due. The three defendants are accused of helping the terrorists prepare for this attack, in which 68 people died and more than 200 others were injured. as reported from Nairobi, The three suspects during the trial are charged with complicity in the terrorists who died during the attack. This Tuesday, it should normally be the epilogue to the only trial linked to the Westgate bombing.…

In this issue, a court in Kigali rejected bail for Paul Rusesabagina a second time and he had requested bail for health reasons with reference to a cancer history. Our regional correspondent brings us the latest on the trial. There have also been allegations that WHO aid workers sexually assaulted locals in DR Congo during the Ebola crisis. The head of the organization says those involved will be fired…

The death toll from a jihadist attack on the convoy of the regional governor of northeastern Nigeria has risen to 30, security sources said on Saturday. Two sources told AFP deaths from Friday's attack in the returning Borno state had doubled as more bodies were found and now included 12 police officers, five soldiers, four members of a government-backed militia and nine civilians. "The number has risen to 30 as many corpses were picked in the surrounding areas after the attack," said one of the sources, adding that…