29 April, 2022 | Mali, Sahara
The French military has released drone video evidence of Russian mercenaries burying bodies near the Gossi army base in northern Mali — handed over by the French to the Malian army on 19 April — in an attempt to falsely accuse the departing troops of leaving behind...
27 December, 2021 | Mali, Sahara
The pending formal deal between Mali’s military junta and the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group — which appears to have already begun with the early January deployment of Russian mercenaries to Timbuktu — is likely to begin this month and will have major implications for...
31 October, 2021 | Mali, Menas Associates, Sahara
If, as expected, the security deal between Russia’s Wagner Group with Mali goes ahead there could be profound implications for the Sahel, the Maghreb and West Africa. It would also be a major strategic setback for France, the EU and the West. It will increase the...
2 October, 2020 | Mali, Menas Associates, Sahara
Last month a new transitional government — albeit it one in which the junta which overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK) on 18 August retains the most powerful portfolios — took office in Mali. International and regional sanctions were therefore lifted and...
24 August, 2020 | Mali, Menas Associates, Sahara
Mali’s latest coup d’état, on Tuesday 18 August, has been almost universally condemned internationally and especially by the African Union (AU), Mali’s neighbouring Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the UN and France. By contrast, most Malians have...
18 August, 2020 | Mali, Menas Associates, Sahara
On 23 July in our Sahara Focus regular monthly report we predicted that Mali’s political crisis will have serious implications for the whole region. Following the regime’s lethal gun attack on the 11 July peaceful demonstration, the way in which Mali’s political...
