20120121 AFP Mali has become the first African country agreeing to take in prisoners sentenced by the International Criminal Court, the tribunal said Friday.
20120120 Reuters BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's military said on Thursday its armed forces had killed 45 gunmen and lost two soldiers in attacks on two towns in the north of the country this week, a toll immediately rejected by a spokesman for the Tuareg-led rebels.
20120119 Reuters BAMAKO (Reuters) - Nomadic Tuareg rebels backed by former soldiers from Libya stepped up attacks on towns in northern Mali on Wednesday, stoking fears that last year's war to oust Muammar Gaddafi could further destabilise the region.
20120118 AFP Malian army helicopters on Tuesday bombed a rebel Tuareg position, forcing them to withdraw after an attempt to seize control of the northeastern town of Menaka, military officials said Tuesday.
20120115 AFP Mali has deployed extra troops and military equipment in its north as an annual desert music festival is held in the zone plagued by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, officials said Friday.
20120104 AFP Mali's government on Tuesday announced a plan to distribute 40,000 tonnes of food in emergency aid to drought victims and those lacking food security.
Mali's foreign minister urged countries in the Sahel on Friday to do more on the ground to help fight al-Qaeda's north African wing (AQIM), which is being bolstered with heavy weapons smuggled from Libya.
NIAMEY (Reuters) - Mali and Niger, two West African neighbours struggling to contain groups linked to al Qaeda groups in their desert regions, plan to enter into a formal defence agreement aimed at improving military cooperation.
BAMAKO (Reuters) - At attack this week on France's embassy in Mali was probably the act of an isolated attention-seeker and there was no proof the assailant was linked to Sahara-based Islamist militants, Malian officials said.
BAMAKO (Reuters) - West African cotton producer Mali has secured 103.2 billion CFA francs in loans from China to finance road, bridge and telecoms projects, the government said.
BAMAKO (Reuters) - A failed French-Mauritanian military raid to rescue a hostage in the Sahara last month has complicated efforts to free two remaining Spanish captives, but negotiations could still work, a Malian official said.
France is reported to be making fresh efforts to free hostage Michel Germaneau, held in Mali by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim). French officials deny that an operation is taking place but Mauritania's army is said to be moving in on the group in its desert stronghold.
Mali's main political party signalled the end of the West African country's rare system of consensus-based politics on Tuesday by declaring that it would field its own candidate in a 2012 presidential election.
