Al Ahly and Sunshine Stars finally leave Mali

An Egyptian military plane airlifted Ahly out of Bamako on Thursday afternoon headed for Cairo.

The six players and two officials from Stars left on Friday to return home via Benin.

The two teams were stranded after Monday's attempted counter-coup caused the airport to be closed.

Ahly's flight after their 1-0 loss in the African Champions League to Stade Malien was initially delayed by bad weather.

Mali junta forces hunt down counter-coup soldiers

Gunfire has been heard in Mali's capital Bamako for a third day as junta patrols hunt down soldiers who had tried to stage an counter-coup.

Panicking residents fled the city centre - but there has been no fresh fighting, a junta spokesperson said.
The shots were fired into the air to break up a student protest, according to Bakary Mariko.
Fighting broke out on Monday after reports that leaders of the anti-junta presidential guard would be arrested.
'Footballers stranded'

Mali violence delayed Ahly and Sunshine Stars

Players and officials from Egypt's Al Ahly and Nigeria's Sunshine Stars are stranded in Mali, after renewed violence on Monday.

Ahly played Stade Malien and Stars took on Djoliba in the African Champions League at the weekend.
The Cairo club's flight was delayed by bad weather, and then - when trouble broke out - the airport was closed.
Some members of the Nigerian party left the country on Saturday night but a small group remain trapped.
"They cannot leave the hotel, on the instructions of the Egyptian embassy," Ahly board member Khaled Mortagy said.

Mali coup: Junta forces 'overrun rivals' camp'

Pro-junta forces in Mali have taken control of the main anti-junta military base after two days of fighting in the capital, Bamako, witnesses say.

Junta forces are going through the camp looking for any remaining troops, a witness told the BBC.
The shooting broke out late on Monday after reports that the leaders of the presidential guard would be arrested.

ECOWAS Troop's Rejected by Mali Coup

The leader of last month's coup in Mali has rejected the West African decision to send troops to the country.

Captain Amadou Sanago said the military had not been consulted by the regional grouping Ecowas.
The coup leaders handed power to an interim civilian government earlier this month.
A meeting between Ecowas mediators and the interim government was disrupted by soldiers shouting "Down with Ecowas" and cocking their guns.
They only backed down when Capt Sanago left the meeting to tell them to disperse.
The military leaders are unhappy about Thursday's decision by Ecowas heads of government to send at least 3,000 soldiers to Mali.
Their planned deployment was designed to help secure the transition back to civilian rule, and help the government defeat rebels who now control the northern half of the country.
Officers led by Capt Sanogo seized power on 22 March, accusing the elected government of not doing enough to halt the rebellion in the northern desert region.
Powerful military They agreed to hand over power to a civilian government on the understanding it would hold fresh elections within 40 days.
But the military is unhappy after Ecowas said the interim government should have up to a year to organise fresh elections.

The country's interim president Dioncounda Traore was at the Ecowas meeting.

Capt Sanago told reporters after the meeting that it was up to the military to decide what institutions run the country after the end of the 40-day period.
He did not make clear whether elections would then be held.
The BBC's John James in neighbouring Ivory Coast says it seems the coup leaders still exercise considerable power and fear any Ecowas deployment would threaten their position.
The military leadership said it seized power last month because the previous government had not done enough to combat rebels.

Mali coup: ICC to consider allegations of atrocities

The International Criminal Court has warned it may investigate allegations of atrocities committed in Mali since violence erupted there in January.

Prosecutors are assessing reports of killings, rapes and of conscripting child soldiers allegedly carried out in the rebel-held north.

Tuareg separatists and their Islamist allies exploited the chaos created by a military coup in March to grab control of much of the desert region.

Civilian rule has since been restored.

Deteriorating human rights

The ICC said they would consider claims from several sources, including senior UN officials, before deciding whether or not to to open a war crimes investigation.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has said that she is "concerned that the longer the instability continued, the more the human rights situation appeared to be deteriorating, with thousands of people already fleeing the northern region to seek refuge in neighbouring countries."

Last week, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said there had been a huge rise in people fleeing the northern region because of the presence of armed groups and Mali's political uncertainty.

There are two main groups behind the rebellion in Mali: The secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Ansar Dine, an Islamist group that has started to impose Sharia in some towns.

The MNLA is made up partly of Tuareg who had fought in Libya on the side of Col Muammar Gaddafi and returned to Mali after he was killed.

They complain they have been ignored by the authorities in the capital, Bamako.

Despite the junta handing back power to civilian rule on 12 April, political tensions also remain in the south of the country - and last week ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure fled to neighbouring Senegal after several of his political allies had been arrested by the army.

They were released - but correspondents say Mr Toure had clearly thought it prudent to get as far away as possible from Mali's soldiers, who have previously threatened to arrest him and who seem to still be a force behind the scenes.

Mali kidnap: Swiss woman freed in Timbuktu

A Swiss woman abducted in the rebel-held north Malian town of Timbuktu more than a week ago is free, officials say.

The woman, a Christian missionary in her 40s, was handed over to a Swiss official by the group holding her, the Swiss foreign ministry said.

She was taken from her house by armed men soon after Timbuktu fell to separatist and Islamist rebels.

On Sunday, the Islamist group Ansar Dine said she was in its custody and that it wanted to free her.

In a statement, the Swiss foreign ministry said the woman had been taken to safety, and that she was in good health, "considering the circumstances".

It also thanked the authorities in Mali and Burkina Faso for their help in securing the woman's release.

The ministry declined to give her personal details, citing data protection laws, but news agency reports have named her as Beatrice Stockly.

Eyewitnesses said that after the handover she boarded a helicopter that flew her to Burkina Faso.

Secular Tuareg rebels, along with Ansar Dine, completed a takeover of Timbuktu and the rest of northern Mali earlier this month after mutinous troops had overthrown President Amadou Toumani Toure in a coup, throwing the country into chaos.

Most foreigners fled Timbuktu at the time.

Facing sanctions from regional body Ecowas and unable to contain the rebellion in the north, the coup leaders later agreed to hand over power to civilian rule.

Since 2009, Switzerland has advised against travel to Mali, citing the risk of kidnap. After last month's coup, it advised all Swiss nationals in Mali to leave the country temporarily.

Mali: Timbuktu refugee influx to Mauritania, says MSF

There has been more than a seven-fold increase in the number of Malians fleeing to Mauritania, the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres has said.

In the last fortnight, the number has increased from 200 to 1,500 a day - many of them from Timbuktu, MSF said.

It blamed the surge on fighting after rebels seized the north of the country in the wake of last month's coup.

Meanwhile, Mali's ruling military released the senior officials it had arrested earlier in the week.

Although the junta handed over to a civilian leader last week, it arrested several close allies of ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure in the following days.

The 22 senior political and army officials have now been released, according to officials from the junta.

Correspondents say there are concerns that the arrests show the military has no intention of leaving politics.

Mr Toure himself left the capital Bamako for Dakar in Senegal on Thursday evening, according to reports.

'Fear and panic'

Last month's uprising caused chaos in Mali, with Tuareg rebels and their Islamist allies exploiting it to take control of a large section of the north.

"The presence of armed groups and political uncertainty in Mali is generating fear and panic among the people," Elisabetta Maria Faga, MSF's field co-ordinator said in a statement.

Most of those arriving in Mauritania were Tuareg families from the Timbuktu region, MSF said.

Many of the refugees have serious health problems, and the nearest hospital was a six-hour drive away from the Mbera refugee camp, the aid agency said.

Earlier, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the junta to "promptly complete the full transfer of power to civilian rule".

On state television the head of the paramilitary police, Col Diamou Keita, defended the arrests of recent days, saying 22 people had been detained in connection with the discovery of an arms cache.

Mali's new interim leaders, President Dioncounda Traore and Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, have the task of organising elections and ending the northern rebellion.

The Tuaregs have declared independence for the northern region - a move resisted by the civilian and military authorities in Bamako, as well as the Islamist group Ansar Dine, which is said to have links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Mali's Amadou Toumani Toure in Senegal's embassy

Mali's ousted leader is in the Senegalese embassy, Senegal's President Macky Sall has told a press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"President Amadou Toumani Toure [is] at this moment on the territory of the residence of the embassy of Senegal in Bamako," Mr Sall said in Paris.
Mr Toure's whereabouts since last month's military coup were unknown.
The news he is in a foreign embassy comes after the arrest this week of several of Mr Toure's political allies.
'Troubling situation' Mr Toure formally resigned on April 8, as part of a deal for the soldiers to hand back power.
Former Prime Minister Modi Sidibe was picked up by men in military police vehicles and reportedly taken to Kati, just outside the capital, Bamako, where soldiers who staged the take-over have set up their headquarters.
Mr Toure's Defence Minister Sadio Gassama and the man responsible for the ex-president's personal security chief of staff Gen Hamidou Sissoko are also being detained by the military.
"This is a troubling situation," said Mr Sall, who came to power in an election just days after the coup in neighbouring Mali.
He also said West African leaders were "trying to find a rapid and peaceful solution first of all internally so we can return to the normal constitutional regime and then deal with the partition of Mali."
Since the coup, ethnic Tuareg and Islamist militants have taken control of much of the northern desert region.
The Tuaregs have declared independence for the region - a move resisted by the civilian and military authorities in Bamako, as well as the Islamist group Ansar Dine, which is said to have links to al-Qaeda's North-West African franchise, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Mali's interim leaders, President Dioncounda Traore and Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, have the task of organising elections and ending the northern rebellion.

Mali coup: Army arrests ex-President Amadou Toure allies

Soldiers have arrested several allies of Mali's ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure days after handing power to a civilian leader, witnesses say.

Former Prime Minister Modibo Sidibe was picked up by men in military police vehicles, an aide said.

Ex-Defence Minister Sadio Gassama and chief of staff, Gen Hamidou Sissoko, have also been arrested.

Bamako-based journalist Martin Vogl says the arrests suggest Mali's interim leader does not have total authority.

Dioncounda Traore - sworn in as interim president last week - has refused to comment on the arrests - while the European Union delegation in Mali has called for "an urgent clarification and their immediate release".

The head of one of Mali's biggest political parties, Soumaila Cisse, has also reportedly been detained.

Mr Cisse was a frontrunner in elections due this month but derailed by last month's coup led by Capt Amadou Sanogo.

A top ranking policeman, Mahamadou Diagouraga, was also detained, the AP news agency reports.

All those arrested have reportedly been taken to Kati, the junta headquarters just outside the capital, Bamako.

Mr Toure agreed to resign as part of the deal for the army to leave power - he was due to stand down in April after two terms as president.

Waiting for a premier

Mr Sidibe, who served as Mr Toure's prime minister from 2007 to 2011, was first arrested shortly after the coup and later released.

Read More... 

Swiss woman abducted by gunmen in northern Mali

A Swiss woman has been abducted in the rebel-held northern Malian city of Timbuktu, officials and residents said.

The woman, a Christian in her 40s called Beatrice, was kidnapped from her house by armed men, residents said.

Most foreigners fled Timbuktu after Tuareg and Islamist rebels seized the town early this month in the aftermath of a military coup.

The kidnap comes amid concern the area could offer a safe haven to an al-Qaeda branch which operates in the country.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the network's North African wing, has links to the Islamist rebels. The group is already holding 13 Westerners.

"Beatrice, a Swiss national, was abducted this Sunday at Timbuktu by armed men," local official Mohamed Ould Hassen told AFP.

One resident of the town told the news agency that they saw six armed men take the woman.

"They shouted 'Allah Akbar' [God is great]," the resident added.

Sources cited by Reuters said the woman, who stayed in the Abaradjou neighbourhood, had lived in Timbuktu for some years and knew several local languages.

Islamist group Ansar Dine and secular Tuareg rebels seized territory in the north of the country after Mali was plunged into political crisis when the president was overthrown in a coup.

After facing sanctions from regional body Ecowas and being unable to control the rebellion in the north, coup leaders in Banako later agreed to hand over power to civilian rule.

Mali crisis: Who's who?

Mali is in the grip of an unprecedented political crisis, one of the most serious since the landlocked West African country gained independence from France in 1960.

Mali's Tuareg rebels are now in control of the north of the country - one of the poorest in the world.

The army seized power in March, accusing the elected government of being soft on the rebels - but while the military was distracted, the rebels made rapid advances.

Under a deal brokered by the West African regional bloc Ecowas, the country has now returned to civilian rule - with Mali's parliamentary speaker sworn in as interim president on 12 April. But political uncertainty remains.

Here is a guide to some of the main players in Mali.

Read More... 

New Mali leader Dioncounda Traore warns rebels of war

Mali's new leader, Dioncounda Traore, has threatened a "total war" against separatist rebels in the north.

Mr Traore's inauguration marks a return to civilian rule following last month's coup in the West African state.

Mr Traore now has 40 days to organise elections - though correspondents say this deadline is unlikely to be met because of the situation in the north.

Since the coup, Tuareg and Islamist militants have taken control of much of the northern desert region.

The UN says there are continuing reports of civilians being killed, robbed, raped and forced to flee northern rebel-held areas.

"Reports also suggest that tensions between different ethnic groups are being stirred up, increasing the risk of sectarian violence," the UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay said in a statement.

Handshake

Mali's former parliamentary speaker was sworn in by Supreme Court President Nouhoum Tapily at a brief ceremony in the capital, Bamako.

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Mali coup leader rejects possible Ecowas intervention

Mali's coup leader has rejected the intervention of foreign troops in the rebel-held north - and hinted at his continuing role in ruling the country.

The comments come just days after a deal was brokered that is supposed to return the West African state to constitutional rule.

The parliamentary speaker is to be sworn in this week as interim president and the junta hand over power.

Mali was plunged into crisis after a separatist uprising that led to a coup.

The putsch, led by Capt Amadou Sanogo, took place nearly three weeks ago amid accusations from the army that the government had not done enough to suppress the insurrection in the north that began in January.

Since the coup, key towns in northern Mali have fallen to Tuareg separatist rebels and their Islamist allies.

'Slap in the face'Read More...