Mali in the press (July)

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France

The CAESAR 155 m m /52 calibre SP artillery system was originally developed by Nexter Systems as a private venture but has since been adopted by four countries. The French Army has taken delivery o f 5 + 72 CAESARs, all based on a Renault Trucks Defense Sherpa 6x6 cross-country truck chassis, which can be fitted w ith a modular armour package. Those CAESARs have seen operational deployment by the French Army in Afghanistan, Lebanon and most recently Mali.

In 2014, Mali has fallen off most news agendas, replaced by more urgent and potentially more devastating conflicts in South Sudan and Central African Republic. (...)

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - "Mali will not yield any military bases to France," the Malian local media quoted Moussa Mara, the Malian Prime Minister, as saying while referring to the Franco-Malian military cooperation agreement.

They said Mara made the statement during a tour of the Sikasso region.
According to Mara, the military cooperation agreement is not a defence pact and so the question of a military base is ruled out.
He said, "this document is not intended to yield any Malian military base to the French army. It aims to provide a legal framework for the presence of the French military in Mali since the launch of the Serval operation in January 2012," noting that it is also a recognition of the efforts that France has made to save Mali, when rebels and drug traffickers occupied the northern part of the country in 2012.
Mara said there is nothing new in this agreement which had existed since 1985 under former Malian president, Gen. Moussa Traoré.
"It had to be renewed through the inclusion of new provisions to enable the French army to continue its operations against terrorism which is a threat to all the countries of the Sahel," he said

Baku-APA. At least one United Nations peacekeeper was killed and six others injured in Mali on Monday when their vehicle struck a land mine in the north of the country, a U.N. spokesman said, APAreports quoting Reuters.