When the French president was presented with the gift of a camel as a present from the people of Mali for his country's intervention against Islamist ...
The French military intervention in Mali since mid-January and much of the official discussion of Mali in the UN and among Western governments seem to have been driven by a quite narrow and short-term view of the issues the country faces. As in anything, if the problem is mis-diagnosed, the solution will probably mis-fire.
If it is true that money talks, then what it says about the Mali conflict would mean many have been simply priced out of the conversation. The fallout from the conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people - about half of whom are children.
Mali, along with several of its neighbouring countries in the Sahel region of West Africa, remains in a state of crisis. The rebel threat has not gone away, despite their withdrawal from strategic towns, and the recent fighting has increased tensions between different ethnic groups, some of whom have been associated with the rebels' cause.
In Mali, where Plan International is working, there are numerous cases of how children are haunted by the mere sound of military vehicles. Marita is one such child. The first time anyone knew that she was suffering the after-effects of the conflict in northern Mali was when an ambulance passed by. She suddenly screamed, dashed across the yard into her house and hid in a corner shaking...
Since Mali adopted a new constitution in 1992, the country has been considered democratic and subsequent elections were lauded free and fair as President Alpha Oumar Konare served his term and retired graciously after 2002.
The former al-Qaeda leader believed to have been behind the Algerian hostage attack has reportedly been killed. Mokhtar Belmokhtar was killed by Ch...
As Mali's northern provinces become more secure, Islamist militants will increasingly engage in targeted attacks, using asymmetric warfare to test international troops and regain the upper hand.
British military advisers are to carry out infantry and artillery training for the Malian armed forces fighting Islamist extremists in the west Africa...
The military cooperation agreements announced last month with Algeria and Libya are part of UK 'energy diplomacy' aimed at securing access to strategic resources in North Africa. Both countries are identified in the UK Energy Security Strategy as producers of gas and oil which are important trading partners and hence countries which are important to the UK's energy security.
There were suggestions that as many as 25,000 manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu had been burned, and even that the building itself had been torched. When the dust cleared the damage, though serious, turned out not to be as dire as feared.
On average a man, women or child dies every minute as a result of armed violence.Two thirds die in countries that are not officially in conflict. Violence fuelled by illegal arms diverts resources away from schools, healthcare and critical infrastructure. It undermines sustainable development, eats away at stability and robs millions of their future.
I swore blind to myself a couple of weeks ago that I'd never publish another word on Bamiyan. I fear deeply for the future of that beautiful valley and its long-suffering people, but I felt I'd reached a point of just repeating myself. One thing Bamiyan should never be is boring.
Fatoumata Zahara looks down at her son on the bed beside her. Two-year-old Salim is in a bad way and she is scared to touch him as it causes him pain. His body is swollen all over and his stretched skin has burst in painful bruise-coloured lesions.
The Al Qaeda movement doubtless remains lethal, virulent and wholly requiring of the coordinated international response that just prevented Mali from collapse and subjugation. But it is also being incrementally pushed into an age more like the 1990s...
Inch by inch and day by day, Britain seems to be sliding ever deeper into the shifting sands of the Malian desert. It is, in my view, a military adventure that's unnecessary, ill-advised and fraught with danger.
Both have been Prime Minister, both know how hard the job can be. Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show this morning, Tony Blair highlighted why he and David Cameron aren't so different after all.
The West's fight against al Qaida is like the battle against revolutionary communism, former prime minister Tony Blair has said as he warned it could ...
The government has rejected calls for MPs to be given a vote on the deployment of armed forces personel to Mali and west Africa, amid fears Britain co...
Call me an idealist, but people need to reflect upon their motivation, on where they get their kicks, on what is really driving them in conflict before they embark on violence with all its negative consequences for themselves and others.
The ten things you need to know on Wednesday 30th January 2013... 1) NOT SO FAST DAVE Hurrah! From the Huffington Post: "David Cameron’s ho...
Britain's announcement confirming the deployment of 330 military personnel to assist French military intervention in Mali has been met with a noticeab...
As Britain prepares to send hundreds of troops to West Africa to support French forces fighting Islamists in Mali, charities and human rights groups h...
Journalists love a war and have been quick to travel to cover the conflict, but most seem at best only vaguely informed about its political, geographical and humanitarian context.
Britain is sending up to 330 military personnel to help train a West African intervention force in Mali, Downing Street has said. The move was anno...
