General and broadly reported questions are not included. Where possible a link is added.
Earlier Mali in the press blogs on:
January, February
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March 4
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The United States pays about a fourth of the United Nations' overall peacekeeping budget, which is at a record $8 billion. As one measure of budgetary pressure, the United States this year did not set aside money for the peacekeeping mission in Mali. The American mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for a comment on Mr. Ban's proposal.
There is good reason for United States officials to worry about the cost and scope of this mission, said Peter Yeo, executive director of the Better World Campaign, which advocates stronger American ties to the United Nations.
Somini Sengupta, U.N. Debates the Breadth of a Mission in Africa, The New York Times, March 4, 2014
Somini Sengupta, U.N. Debates the Breadth of a Mission in Africa, The New York Times, March 4, 2014
March 3
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Han Koch, 'Verdachte militair verdient bescherming,' Trouw, 3 maart 2014
(zie ook Advocatenblad (27/2/14): ‘Militairen verdienen betere rechtsbescherming’)
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Local sources in the region of 'Tlatit' in northern Mali said gunmen from a 'Peuhl' group and who belong to the Movement of Tawhid and Movement of Jihad in West Africa [MUJAO] have, in the past two weeks, repeatedly targeted Tuareg groups in the region, especially from the tribe of 'AMGAD;' the tribe of Haj AG Gamou, the first General from the Tuareg clan and an ally of the government of Bamako.
The source who spoke to Sahara Media estimated the death toll, resulting from the operations carried out by the Group, to about 50 people, including women and children in the region. The group had opened fire on two cars carrying Tuareg civilians coming from the market, which led to the death of over thirty people among passengers.
The source said the victims were civilian passengers, while a number of the fighters of the AMGAD tribe were killed in a clash with the group affiliated to the MUJAO, when the AMGAD fighters started tracking down the cars that opened fire on the civilian vehicles.
One of the AMGAD fighters confirmed to Sahara Media that they killed a large number of the armed group members affiliated to the MUJAO, after they tracked down their cars and clashed with them for several days in a row, and discovered several dens used by them, and arrested a number of prisoners, including members of the Arabs of Mali and some elements from Niger. It means the group receives occasional support from these elements, according to the source.
The fighter, who belongs to AMGAD, in his speech to Sahara Media, denounced how this militia penetrates the Nigerien territory and gets out with ease, despite the high security measures observed along the borders.
The area between the city of Gao and Niger is experiencing severe tension, as the Tuareg are afraid of being targeted by the MUJAO under the pretext of tribal wars, as one of the Tuareg notables in the region said, justifying this by the fact that the Tuareg had refused to join the MUJAO group and fought against it in GAO, Manaca, and Tagharengbouet.
A local source said three relatives of General AG Gamou were killed near the city of Jabak, not far from GAO, but some eyewitnesses said they had been killed by the Malian army and were not killed by the Peuhl group affiliated to the Tawhid and Jihad group in Western Africa.
MUJAO affiliates attack northern Mali Mauritanian source, Radio Sahara FM, Nouakchott, in Arabic 2100 gmt 27 Feb 14 (via BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, March 3, 2014)
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March 2
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[Presenter] There is another macabre discovery in the suburb of Bamako, the Malian capital. A body was pulled out of the depth of a well in Kati, the town in which the military barracks of the March 2012 former coup makers is located.
These mortal remains could well be those of an officer of the red berets, the bodyguards of former President Amadou Toumani Toure. Our correspondent Serge Daniel files the following report from Bamako.
(…)
The other cases of the missing red beret soldiers are pending before they were found in the mass graves about nearly three months ago. It is the families of these soldiers who climbed up the crenel on this Sunday [2 March] to say that nobody is above the law and that it is time for the whole truth.
Body of Malian junta official discovered near capital, Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French 1230 gmt 2 Mar 14 (via BBC Monitoring Africa – Political).
Previous Flintlock blogs on Broekstukken:
Flintlock 2013 (14 Nov 2013)
Mijn losse-Mali-wapens-flodders en signaleringen ... (14 Jan 2013)
Flintlock Kamervragen (26 Apr 2011)Nederlanders in War on Terror….in Afrika (03 Feb 2011)
Mali, de luwte in de storm (10 Jan 2014)
Mali in de pers (jan. 2014) (04 Jan 2014)Voor of tegen (1): Mali (10 Nov 2013)
Terror in Nigeria with arms from Libya (24 Sep 2013)
Terreur in Nigeria met wapens uit Libië (19 Sep 2013)