Since 2012, Mali has faced a volatile crisis as political armed groups, including ethnic based movements, jihadist groups and transnational criminal networks, fight for hegemony and the control of trafficking routes in the North. The 2015 peace agreement remains very difficult to implement and signatory groups still resort to violence to settle differences. Jihadist violence against security forces is increasing and militants have gone rural to capitalise on local conflicts and the absence of the State to secure safe havens and new recruits. Mali’s instability has regional consequences as violent extremism spills into neighbouring countries. Through field research, timely reports and advocacy with regional and local actors, Crisis Group seeks to broaden understanding of the complex roots of violence in Mali via local, gendered and regional lenses and to find solutions to problems of governance.
Dans cet épisode d’Afrique 360°, Enrica Picco et Floor Keuleers reçoivent Oumou Sall Seck, maire de la ville malienne de Goundam et ancienne ambassadrice du Mali en Allemagne, et Ornella Moderan, chercheuse spécialisée dans les questions de sécurité et de gouvernance au Sahel, pour parler des inégalités de genre dans la perpétuation des violences et la construction de la paix au Sahel.
Industrial action compelled authorities to back down over union leader’s arrest; tensions rose among ruling powers.
Union action forced govt to reverse arrest, but civil liberties crackdown continued. Authorities 5 June arrested Hamadoun Bah, head of banking union and deputy leader of country’s largest union, on forgery charges amid union dispute; unions criticised arrest, which some see as likely tied to Bah’s criticism of justice system. Following arrest, bank and gas stations 6-10 June held strikes backed by other unions, demanding unionist’s release. After apparent intervention by President Col. Goïta, authorities 10 June freed Bah. Meanwhile, imprisoned former head of state security Kassoum Goïta and former colonel Alpha Yaya Sangaré remained missing; unidentified individuals 31 May abducted both men from cells. Security forces 8-27 June detained journalist after he covered small anti-govt demonstration in capital Bamako. Authorities 20 June arrested 11 political leaders at private meeting of alliance of political parties and civil society groups, following April suspension of political parties’ activities.
Rifts between military authorities and civilian PM exposed. PM Maïga 18 June called for continued support to Goïta; in apparent sign of dissatisfaction, however, PM also endorsed M5-RFP political movement’s May statement criticising removal of M5-RFP ministers from office in July 2023 and military’s unilateral decision to prolong transition; move came after late May arrest of chargé de mission at Maïga’s office over his role in statement. Political tensions with opposition continued after govt-in-exile led by former supreme court lawyer Mohamed Chérif Koné formed late May, and Bamako court late May refused to dissolve opposition SADI party led by exiled activist Oumar Mariko; capacity for Koné and Mariko to mobilise major domestic opposition to military authorities remained remote.
Violence persisted across north and centre. Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims 5 June claimed to have killed Islamic State Sahel Province commander in Fitili area, Gao region (north). Military 13 June reported repelling ambush near Douentza town, Douentza region (centre).
In another important development. Sweden 20 June announced closure of embassies in Bamako and Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou, establishing embassy covering regional activity in Senegalese capital Dakar.
The jihadists have deeply ingrained themselves into the local landscape [in northern Mali]. [That] has made it much harder to uproot them.
MONUSCO has largely failed [in DR Congo] because its deployment has not had a significant impact on security over the past decade.
The Malian army is now demonstrating its ability to organize complex operations, particularly in the center of the country.
What we see in Mali is that Russia does not bring more security or improvements in the situation. The Russian army in Ukraine is not doing well, and in Mali, the Wagner G...
Dans le nord du Mali, les combats ont repris entre les groupes armés signataires de l'accord de paix de 2015 et les forces gouvernementales, alors que les affrontements se poursuivent avec les jihadistes. L’initiative d’un dialogue inter-malien, proposée par Bamako, constitue une occasion de rétablir le calme.
Au Mali, les combats ont repris entre l’armée appuyée par Wagner et une coalition de groupes armés signataires de l’accord de paix de 2015, mettant en péril le processus de paix. Ibrahim Maïga et Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim expliquent les raisons de ces affrontements et ce que les deux belligérants ont à y perdre.
At Bamako’s request, the UN Security Council has begun drawing down the UN peacekeeping operation in Mali. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts Richard Gowan and Daniel Forti explore the implications for blue helmet missions elsewhere on the continent.
Le 16 juin, le Mali a demandé au Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU d’acter le retrait de la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation du Mali (Minusma). Jean-Hervé Jézéquel et Ibrahim Maïga expliquent les raisons qui ont amené les autorités maliennes à cette décision et en analysent les conséquences.
Le Mali et le Burkina Faso sont confrontés à une insurrection jihadiste et à des troubles politiques. Dans cet extrait de l’édition de printemps de la Watch List 2023, Crisis Group souligne ce que l'UE et ses États membres peuvent faire pour éviter que ces deux pays ne tombent dans un isolement régional encore plus grand.
Les autorités maliennes ont opéré un revirement stratégique en s’éloignant de la France et en faisant de la Russie leur principal allié militaire. Les relations entre le Mali et certains partenaires occidentaux et régionaux se détériorent. Les autorités maliennes et leurs partenaires devraient chercher à rétablir des relations plus équilibrées.
Le Royaume-Uni, la Côte d’Ivoire et d’autres pays prévoient de retirer leurs troupes de la mission de maintien de la paix de l’ONU au Mali, assombrissant son avenir alors qu’elle fait l’objet d’un examen interne. Dans ce Q&A, les experts de Crisis Group discutent des défis de la mission et des scénarios possibles pour la suite.
Après deux coups d'Etat en autant d'années, Bamako continue de combattre les insurgés jihadistes au Mali. Dans cet extrait de l'édition de printemps de la Watch List 2022, Crisis Group exhorte l'UE et ses Etats membres à soutenir des pourparlers visant un retour à l'ordre constitutionnel, à renforcer leur aide à la société civile et à encourager les réformes électorales.
In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk with Sahel experts Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim and Richard Moncrieff about France’s announcement it will pull troops from Mali, and what the withdrawal means for the fighting against jihadist insurgents.
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