Mali's government has announced that much-anticipated presidential elections in the West African nation will take place on July 28.

France has planned to keep a military presence in Mali beyond 2014, the country’s defense minister has announced.

French President Francois Hollande has demanded that nationwide elections be held in July in the former colony of Mali, where a French-led war is raging.

Dozens of French forces have left the Malian town of Timbuktu in the country’s north several months after they invaded the West African country.

France’s defense minister has reaffirmed that the country will keep 1,000 troops in Mali to fight armed groups even after the arrival of more than 12,000 UN peacekeepers later this year.

The United Nations Security Council has approved more than 12,600 peacekeeping forces for the West African country of Mali.

Many Malians say they cautiously welcome the news that a United Nations peacekeeping force will be deployed to their country.

The Malian military says it has expelled a French journalist from northern Mali who had documented civilian deaths blamed on Malian soldiers.

Experts from the 15 Security Council members due to meet on Tuesday to discuss resolution, drafted by France.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says 74,000 Malians who have taken refuge in the desert of Mauritania need urgent help and humanitarian assistance.

French forces have launched one of their largest offensives against what they claim to be extremist militants in the West African country, Mali.

The Malian prime minister said on Monday that the government was determined to organize the presidential and legislative elections in July in conformity with the transition roadmap.

A suicide car bomber killed a soldier near Timbuktu's airport, officials said Thursday, the first such attack in the fabled city where French forces ousted Islamic extremists from power almost two months ago.

French Defense Minister Jean Yves Le Drian says soldiers fighting in Mali have killed at least 15 local fighters in overnight clashes in the country's northeast.

Chadian soldiers operating in Mali have killed militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the Chadian Army says.

French officials say the country’s forces will remain in Mali until at least July amid reports of a serious humanitarian crisis in the northern areas of the country caused by the French-led war in the West African nation.

The US has set up a new drone base in Niger reportedly aimed at fighting al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Africa and helping French troops in their war on Mali.

The German government has approved the deployment of up to 330 military personnel to Mali to back France in its war on the West African country.

A French soldier has been killed in clashes with fighters in a mountainous region of northern Mali.

An American Senator says the United States is likely to play a more active military role in Mali, where a French-led war is raging, after the West African country holds elections.