Mali: a country divided

Special Report

Last modification: 15/06/12

Mali is a country in turmoil. A military coup d'état on March 22, 2012 removed President Amadou Toumani Touré from power, and in the ensuing chaos rebels in the north, dominated by Tuareg tribesmen, took control of the country's three main northern cities. The West African country has been effectively divided in two.

MALI

Mali's whisky-drinking rebel turned Islamist chief

In the course of an eventful life, Iyad Ag Ghali, head of the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine, has been a rebel, diplomat, negotiator and Islamist militant. In his latest avatar, he could also now determine the future of northern Mali.

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MALI

France fears ‘terrorist’ camps in northern Mali

French President François Hollande warned Monday that “terrorists” may be trying to set up camps in northern Mali, raising fears that the vast territory taken by Tuareg rebels and their militant Islamist ally could turn into a new haven for Al-Qaeda.

MALI

Mali rebel groups clash over breakaway state

Clashes broke out in northern Mali Friday between separatist group MNLA and their sometime-allies, the Islamists Ansar Dine, after the two fell out over forming a breakaway state in the desert region they control, raising fears of widening chaos.

EXCLUSIVE FRANCE 24

Afghan, Pakistani jihadists 'operating in northern Mali'

In an interview with FRANCE 24 Thursday, Niger President Mahamadou Issofou said foreign jihadists – including Afghans and Pakistanis – were training Islamist recruits in the breakaway region of northern Mali.

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MALI

Strange bedfellows: The MNLA’s on-again, off-again marriage with Ansar Dine

The Tuareg separatist MNLA has long denied any ties with the Islamist Ansar Dine or al Qaeda. But now they’re not so sure - and that does not bode well for the breakaway region of northern Mali.

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Mali

Mali's Tuareg rebels, Islamists restart talks after unity pact fails

Tuareg MNLA rebels restarted talks Saturday with Islamist group Ansar Dine after withdrawing from a deal made last week. The MNLA says the Islamists' insistence on establishing sharia law goes against their secular principles.

Mali

Mali's government rejects north's independence

Mali's transitional government on Saturday rejected a declaration by Mali's secular Tuareg rebels and the Islamist militants Ansar Dine that they had created an independent Islamic state in the north of the country.

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Mali

Mali rebel groups unite to create new Islamist state

Mali's secular Tuareg rebels and the Islamist militants Ansar Dine have agreed to join forces and create an independent Islamic state in the north of the country, the two factions announced in a joint statement on Saturday.

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MALI

Mali coup leader rejects ECOWAS troop deployment

Amadou Haya Sanogo (photo), the army captain who led a March 22 coup in Mali, on Saturday rejected a decision by the West African bloc ECOWAS to send troops to the country to ensure an agreed transition to civilian rule.

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Mali

Mali interim PM forms new government

Mali's transitional prime minister Cheick Modibo Diarra formed a new 24-member cabinet on Wednesday that included army officers at the head of the defence, interior and civil protection ministries.

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MALI

Crisis-hit Mali swears in transitional president

Marking an end to a brief period of military rule, parliamentary speaker Dioncounda Traoré was sworn in as Mali's interim president on Thursday. He faces a number of challenges in steering the country toward reunification.

MALI

Fearing a backlash, Tuareg community flees Bamako

The latest Tuareg rebellion and the declaration of independence of northern Mali by a Tuareg rebel group has increased the anxieties of Bamako's Tuareg community, prompting many of them to flee the country.

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SPECIAL REPORT - MALI

Northern Malians appeal for humanitarian corridor

While Mali has been limping back to civilian control following the March 22 coup, the humanitarian situation in the rebel-controlled north has been deteriorating, sparking urgent appeals for help by displaced civilians.

SPECIAL REPORT - MALI

Crisis-weary Malians brace for another regime change

Intense negotiations at two Bamako institutions have yielded a settlement in recent days to Mali's political crisis. But do Malians believe their incoming interim president, Dioncounda Traoré, can put their country back on track?

MALI

France rejects Tuareg independence move

France on Friday rejected the Tuarag rebel group proclamation of an independent state in northern Mali, according to foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero. The African Union also rejected the 'Azawad' state.

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FRANCE 24 EXCLUSIVE

Tuareg rebels declare independence in north Mali

A spokesman for the Malian Tuareg rebel group, MNLA, told FRANCE 24 on Friday that it had declared the independence of the northern region of Azawad, calling for a unilateral ceasefire after claiming to have successfully conquered the area.

MALI

Mali's perfect storm of woes creates a perfect militant breeding zone

FRANCE 24 EXCLUSIVE

France calls for dialogue with Mali rebels, unity against al Qaeda

In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called for political dialogue with Tuareg rebels in Mali and called for regional co-operation to fight al Qaeda's expansion in the area.

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