Mali Archives - Voice of the Cape

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers announced the unconditional release of South African paramedic Gerco van Deventer

By Kouthar Sambo Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers announced the unconditional release of South African paramedic Gerco van Deventer on Sunday. Speaking on VOC's Drive Time on Monday, Gift of the Givers' Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said the situation was complex because there was no ransom money, which resulted in the stalling of the process. "Gift of the Givers does not pay ransom but acts as a facilitator on behalf […]

19 December 2023

International

Germany to withdraw troops from UN Mali mission by May 2024

INTERNATIONAL Germany will withdraw its troops from the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Mali by May 2024, a government spokesman has said, becoming the latest country to announce its pullout from the rebellion-hit country. The government will propose to parliament that Germany’s commitment to the MINUSMA operation be extended “in May 2023 for the last time by a year, in order to bring this mission to a structured end after 10 […]

23 November 2022

International News

Mali military backs 18-month transition government as talks close

Mali's military government has pushed through a political charter to establish an 18-month transition government that could lead to the appointment of a soldier as interim president, despite objections from the coalition that led anti-government protests before last month's coup. Approval for the road map, meant to chart the country's course after the August 18 coup that toppled embattled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, came on Saturday after three days of […]

13 September 2020

International News

Mali’s Keita resigns as president after military mutiny

Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has resigned hours after mutinying soldiers seized him from his home following months of mass protests against alleged corruption and worsening security in the West African country. The news of Keita's departure was met with jubilation by anti-government demonstrators on Wednesday, while leaders of the military coup said they would enact a political transition and stage elections within a "reasonable time". Keita announced his decision […]

19 August 2020

Uncategorized

West African mediation fails to reach deal to end Mali crisis

Unprecedented mediation efforts by five West African presidents in Mali have ended without a deal on how to resolve the country's deepening political crisis. The leaders of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal on Thursday headed to Bamako to meet Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and key figures of an opposition protest movement that has been demanding for weeks his resignation. After the daylong talks aimed at breaking the deadlock, Nigerien […]

24 July 2020

International News

‘Mali rebel fighters’ kill 17 Tuareg civilians

Suspected rebels have killed at least 17 civilians belonging to the Tuareg ethnic community in northern Mali, just days after 40 Tuaregs were killed during a similar raid on nearby villages, authorities say. The attacks occurred on Tuesday in the village of Tindibawen, 160km east of the town of Menaka near the border with Niger, and in a nearby village, Nanout Kotia, mayor of Menaka, told Reuters news agency. Violence […]

3 May 2018

News

Islamic Relief cycling for Mali

The situation in the villages of Bladje, Siraman, Komitan and Tamala in Mali is dire, with only a small percentage of the population having access to safe drinking water. The health of thousands of people in these villages – especially children – are at risk because of water-borne diseases. With this in mind, I and another 21 daring (some would say crazy) friends, from across three continents have taken on […]

11 January 2018

International News

Mali president wants U.S. to reverse Chad travel ban

Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, head of a group of five countries in Africa’s Sahel region, has asked the United States to remove a travel ban on Chadian nationals, saying that a failure to do so could affect Chad’s security commitments. Security analysts expressed surprise when Chad, a key U.S. security partner since the Cold War, was named last week alongside North Korea and Venezuela as part of an eight-country […]

28 September 2017

Local

Stephen McGown on the ‘ups and downs’ of clinging to hope

After years of false hope, former al-Qaeda hostage Stephen McGown said he got tired of believing that he would ever be released. McGown, who spent almost six years in captivity, was jovial during a media briefing on Thursday, often making journalists laugh as he described the conditions he was forced to live under as a hostage in Mali. “It's difficult to actually comprehend. By this stage you have had so […]

11 August 2017

Mali

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