Weekly update and resources

  • France will not apologise for colonising Algeria although President Macron believes it was a crime against humanity.

Read more on The Times

  • French President Emmanuel Macron has signalled intention to reduce the 5,100-strong French military force fighting jihadis in the Sahel & sub-Saharan Africa.

Read more on The Financial Times

  • Algerian soldiers fired high-calibre rounds as part of an operation against the persistent threat of Islamist militants

Read more on Africanews.com

  • 300 British troops begin missions in Mali, as part of UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA

Read more on The Independent

 

Mali: 3 French soldiers killed, escalation of violence & UN evidence of war crimes

  • Three French Soldiers Killed in Mali

Three French soldiers were killed in Mali on Monday, 28/12/2020 when their vehicle hit a bomb during operations under France’s counterterrorism mission.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

  • Mali: Any End to the Storm?

According to ACLED, 2020 has been the deadliest year on record in Mali. The situation has deteriorated since 2016, when violence spread to central Mali. This led to an escalation in multi-directional violence through armed attacks, scaled-up military operations, and increased targeting of civilians. A military coup in August 2020 broke the status quo and has provided opportunities to change the country’s downward trajectory. However, Mali’s transitional government faces an uphill battle to build consensus and reign in the violence.

Read more on ACLED

  • UN Report: Evidence of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity

United Nations investigators into violence in Mali provided evidence that security forces committed war crimes, and fighters and other armed groups perpetrated crimes against humanity between 2012-2018.

Read more on Al Jazeera

  • Soumaila Cissé, leader of the opposition in Mali, has died at the age of 71.

Read more on Rfi.fr