West Africa news and stories by mail.com

West Africa

Mali jihadists in custody say tortured by military
Three suspected jihadists arrested in the days since the liberation of Timbuktu said Friday that Malian soldiers were torturing them with a method ...
Cyprus offers assault rifles to help Mali fight
A spokeswoman for Cyprus' Defense Ministry says the country is offering 2,364 assault rifles to an African-led military force to fight Islamic ...
Anouma presents appeals case to CAS
FIFA executive committee member Jacques Anouma presented his case on Friday at sports' highest court to be accepted as a Confederation of African ...
18 killed in northeast Nigeria military raid
Nigerian soldiers attacked training camps for suspected members of the radical Islamic sect Boko Haram deep in a game reserve in the nation's restive ...
French leader to visit Mali, talk of troop levels
President Francois Hollande says he'll suggest when France will reduce troop levels in Mali during a trip there Saturday, nearly four weeks after a ...
Kofi Annan tackles drug trafficking in West Africa
Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan launched a commission Thursday to tackle drug trafficking in West Africa as the region increasingly ...
UK backs talks between Syrian opposition, regime
Britain on Thursday welcomed the surprise declaration from Syria's top opposition leader that he would negotiate with President Bashar Assad's regime ...
Timbuktu revels in new freedom but fears linger
A leaflet listing the regulations for women under Islamist rule now lies in dirt here at the tribunal in Timbuktu. Rule No. 1: The veil should cover ...
5 killed in separate attacks in north Nigeria
Authorities say at least five police officers have been killed in separate attacks in northern Nigeria. Gunmen raided Birnin-Gwari in Kaduna state ...
French capture Islamists' last major Malian town
French forces met no resistance Wednesday in Kidal, the Islamists' last major town, as the two-week-old mission scored another success in its effort ...
Dutch court rejects most of Shell spill case
A Dutch court has ruled that a subsidiary of international oil giant Royal Dutch Shell should be held responsible for a pipeline leak poisoning ...
Timbuktu manuscripts mostly safe, university says
Islamist extremists damaged or stole only a limited number of manuscripts in Timbuktu in Mali before they fled the fabled desert city, a South African ...
Report: Ivory Coast gov't lacks impartiality
Ivory Coast's government has displayed a "lack of impartiality" by not pursuing specific perpetrators of 2010-11 postelection violence including those ...
US eyes drone base in Africa with al-Qaida in mind
Plans to base unarmed American surveillance drones in the African nation of Niger highlight the Obama administration's growing concern about extremist ...
In recaptured city in Mali, Islamists hunted down
Residents in Mali's newly liberated city of Gao hunted down and beat suspected Islamist extremists who had not fled with their brothers-in-arms as ...
Donors pledge $455 million to Mali military push
African and Western nations on Tuesday pledged more than $450 million to fund an African-led military force to fight Islamist extremists in Mali.
Timbuktu, ancient seat of Islamic learning
Timbuktu, the fabled desert city where retreating Muslim extremists destroyed ancient manuscripts, was a center of Islamic learning hundreds of years ...
Germany: Mali mission could prompt terrorist act
Germany's Interior Ministry says the country's aid to the fight in Mali against Islamic extremists could prompt individuals to attempt terrorist ...
EU, 2 other nations meet to pledge Mali trainers
EU countries are meeting Tuesday in Brussels to pledge personnel and other support for a military training mission to Mali, an EU official said.
Tuaregs say they seized Mali towns from Islamists
Tuareg fighters in northern Mali say they have seized control of the strategic city of Kidal and seven other northern towns from Islamist extremists.
IMF approves $18.4 million loan for Mali
The International Monetary Fund is giving war-torn Mali a vote of confidence with an emergency loan of $18.4 million. The fund's board approved the ...
Mali military enters fabled town of Timbuktu
Backed by French helicopters and paratroopers, Malian soldiers entered the fabled city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants who ruled ...
Peace offer made amid northeast Nigeria violence
A self-proclaimed commander of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram said Monday that a cease-fire by the group would be imminent in northern Nigeria, ...