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Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Islamist militants free Moroccan truck drivers held since January, Mali says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox BAMAKO - Islamic State-affiliated militants have released four Moroccan truck drivers kidnapped in January, Mali said late on Monday, according to state media, highlighting growing intelligence cooperation between the two countries. The men and their three trucks disappeared in January while crossing without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger, an area known for jihadist threats, a diplomatic source said at the time. They were shown alongside Mali junta leader Assimi Goita in footage broadcast on Monday night by state media, which reported that they had been freed on Sunday. Junta-led Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali are battling militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have been destabilising West Africa's Sahel region for more than a decade. All three countries have halted defence cooperation with France and other Western forces and turned towards Russia for military support. And last year they announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), raising the risk of diplomatic isolation. Morocco has meanwhile drawn closer to the three landlocked countries. In April, the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali endorsed an initiative offering them access to global trade through Morocco's Atlantic ports. Morocco also mediated to secure the release in December of four French nationals who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 'She had a whole life ahead of her': Boyfriend mourns Yishun fatal crash victim Singapore Doctor hounded ex-girlfriend, threatened to share her intimate photos, abducted her off street Singapore Beauty industry consumers hit by 464% rise in prepayment losses in first half of 2025 Business Singapore retail sales up by 2.3%, driven by sales of motor vehicles Singapore Over 5,900 vape products found in car at Woodlands Checkpoint Singapore Locally developed VR tool can detect pre-dementia with almost 90% accuracy Singapore 13 taken to hospital after accident involving SBS buses, car in Tampines Sport Singapore National Olympic Council launches book series honouring local athletes The release on Sunday of the four truck drivers came as a result of cooperation between the security and intelligence services of Mali and Morocco, Malian state media reported. REUTERS
Straits Times
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Mali ex-prime minister to stand trial over social media post, lawyer says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox BAMAKO - A Malian court has detained and charged former Prime Minister Moussa Mara over a social media post criticising shrinking democratic space under military rule in the West African nation, his lawyer said late Friday. Mara is one of few public figures in the country who has been willing to openly question moves taken this year to dissolve political parties and grant the military government, led by Assimi Goita, a five-year mandate without elections. Last month, authorities formally approved Goita's five-year term and said it could be renewed as many times as necessary as Mali struggles to respond to a long-running jihadist insurgency. Goita assumed power after military coups in 2020 and 2021. Mara had been summoned several times for questioning this month over a social media post dated July 4 expressing solidarity with government critics who have been jailed. On July 21, his lawyer, Mountaga Tall, posted on social media site X that Mara had been barred from boarding a flight to Senegal to participate in a regional conference on peace and security. On Friday, Mara was summoned by a judicial cybercrimes unit, and a prosecutor charged him with offences including undermining the credibility of the state and spreading false information, Tall said in a statement. Mara's trial has been scheduled for September 29, Tall said. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case against Mara comes amid worsening insecurity in Mali. The past few months have seen a surge of deadly attacks by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda-linked group that also operates in Burkina Faso and Niger. Analysts say the group's battlefield tactics have grown increasingly sophisticated and that it has amassed substantial resources through raids on military posts, cattle rustling, hijacking of goods, kidnappings and taxes on local communities. On Friday, the group said it had ambushed a convoy of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries in the Tenenkou locality in central Mali. Mali's army confirmed the ambush in a statement on X. Neither statement gave a death toll. REUTERS
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Mali army base and airport in Timbuktu targeted in attack
Representative Image (AI-generated) BAMAKO: A Malian army base came under attack on Monday and shells were fired at the airport in the northern city of Timbuktu where heavy gunfire was heard, the army, local officials and residents said. Junta-ruled Mali has since 2012 faced attacks from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as separatist movements and criminal gangs. For several months in 2012, jihadists took control of the fabled desert city of Timbuktu. The army's general staff said in a statement that it had "thwarted an attempt by terrorist fighters to infiltrate the Timbuktu camp" at around 10.00 am (local and GMT). It added that 13 attackers were "neutralised", without saying if there had been other victims. "The search is under way throughout the city of Timbuktu," it added. The attackers tried to force their way into the military camp and shells were launched at the airport, which is two kilometres (just over a mile) from the city, the city governor's office said. The situation is "under control", it added on social media. No information on possible military or civilian victims was immediately available. Later in the day, a security source said that operations in the camp were "already over" and that the attackers were "everywhere in the city". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending local enterprise accounting software [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo "They did not raid the airport because the Russians are there. But they launched shells. It's hot everywhere," the source added. A local official said the "terrorists" arrived in Timbuktu "with a vehicle packed with explosives". "The vehicle exploded near the (military) camp," the official said. UN staff were instructed in a message "to take shelter" and "stay away from windows" due to "shooting in the city of Timbuktu". A resident reported having heard "heavy gunfire in the city" which "seems to come from the side of the (military) camp". Under fire: A local journalist speaking by telephone said "the city is under fire". "This morning our city was attacked by terrorist groups. Shots were heard near the military camp and the airport. We all returned home," he said. The ancient city of Timbuktu, once known as the "city of 333 saints" for the Muslim holy men buried there, was subject to major destruction while under the control of jihadists for several months in 2012. The jihadists who swept into the city considered the shrines idolatrous and destroyed them with pickaxes and bulldozers. The ancient city was peacefully retaken in late January 2013 with the support of French military forces under Operation Serval, deployed to halt the jihadists' advance in Mali. Since seizing power in coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali's military rulers have broken the country's traditional ties with its former colonial power France and moved closer to Russia. Jihadist groups and the Malian army and its allies from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner are regularly accused of committing abuses against civilians. In September, jihadists attacked a police academy and stormed the military airport in Bamako, the first attack in the Malian capital since 2016. The attacks have undermined the junta's claims that its new foreign partnerships and increased military effort have turned the tide against the jihadists.
Straits Times
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Insurgents overrun Mali base, killing dozens of soldiers, sources say
BAMAKO - An Al Qaeda-linked rebel group active in West Africa's Sahel region has claimed responsibility for an attack on a military base in Mali on Sunday that two sources said had killed more than 30 soldiers. More than 400 soldiers have reportedly been killed by insurgents since the start of May in bases and towns in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, an unstable region prone to coups. The jihadist group, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), said in a statement on Sunday that it had seized the base in Boulkessi in central Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso. The Malian army said it had been forced to pull back. "Many men fought, some until their last breath, to defend the Malian nation," its statement said, without giving any casualty numbers. A spokesperson did not respond to a question about the toll, but two security sources said more than 30 soldiers had been killed. A municipal source at Mondoro, near the base, said the insurgents "cleared the camp" and that there were many dead. Videos shared online showed dozens of insurgents overrunning the base. One showed militants stepping on the bodies of soldiers who had fallen between sandbags. Reuters could not immediately authenticate the videos. WIDENING INSECURITY JNIM has claimed responsibility for a host of recent attacks in the region. On May 24, it said it had attacked a base in Dioura, central Mali, killing 40 soldiers. Last Friday, it said it had seized a base in Sirakorola in southwestern Mali, although the army said it had repelled the attack. It did not provide a toll for that incident either. In neighbouring Burkina Faso, JNIM claimed attacks on military positions and the town of Djibo in mid-May in which it said it had killed 200 soldiers. And in Niger, more than 100 soldiers were killed in two attacks in the Tahoua region on May 24 and the Dosso region on May 26, security sources said. Neither Burkina Faso nor Niger has published an official death toll. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are all ruled by juntas that seized power between 2020 and 2023, citing the inability of civilian governments to stamp out jihadist insurgencies. All have cut ties with Western nations and turned to Russia for military support, but are still struggling to contain violence that has displaced millions. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Arab News
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
At least 18 killed in airstrike on market in northern Mali, separatist group says
BAMAKO: At least 18 people have been killed in an airstrike in northern Mali, a separatist group said. The army said it had mounted an attack targeting armed militants. The Collective for the Defense of the Rights of the Azawad People, which is part of a Tuareg separatist coalition, said Monday the Malian army bombed a market 50 km (30 miles) north of Lerneb, in the Timbuktu region. Seven people were also injured in the strike on Sunday, the group said in a statement, denouncing a 'barbaric act from another age' and a 'flagrant human rights violation.' Mali's army said Monday in a statement on X it carried out air strikes on a 'refuge' in the same area cited by the separatist group, killing 11 'terrorists.' Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenary units for security assistance instead. Since seizing power in 2021, Col. Assimi Goita has struggled to curb violence in central and northern Mali, while the army has been accused of targeting civilians. Last month, the Front for the Liberation of Azawad, the coalition of Tuareg separatist groups, accused the Malian army and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group of 'coldly executing' at least 24 people in northern Mali. Last year, the rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report the army and Russian mercenaries killed at least 32 civilians, including seven in a drone strike, kidnapped four others, and burned at least 100 homes in towns and villages in central and northern Mali between May and December.
