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/ 22 May 2008

Tuareg rebels attack Mali army camp, 32 killed

Tuareg rebels attacked an army camp in north-eastern Mali where 17 rebels and 15 soldiers were killed in one of the bloodiest clashes to date in a revolt by the desert insurgents, the government said on Thursday. A Defence Ministry statement said an ”armed band” assaulted the camp at Abebara during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in Mali’s remote north-east.

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/ 24 March 2008

Mali rebels hold soldiers hostage

Rebels in northern Mali are holding about 30 soldiers hostage following an attack last week, military officials said on Sunday. Ethnic Tuareg rebels raided a military convoy in the desert Kidal region last week, taking several dozen troops hostage, a military official said on condition of anonymity because he was not an authorised spokesperson.

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/ 15 January 2008

Deported Malians trash plane in Bamako

A group of Malian illegal immigrants deported from Mozambique started trashing their plane in protest as it arrived in the capital, Bamako, on Tuesday, airport officials said. The 80-strong group of deportees tried to damage both the interior and exterior of the plane in front of cabin crew from South Africa.

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/ 18 October 2007

Mali plans to abolish death penalty

The government in the West African state of Mali plans to abolish the death penalty, three decades after it carried out its last execution, it said on Thursday. A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday adopted a Bill that ”stipulated that the death penalty be abolished and … that it is replaced by life imprisonment”, said a statement.

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/ 13 September 2007

Rebels fire at US military plane in Mali

Tuareg rebels fired at a United States military plane dropping provisions to Malian troops in the north of the African country, but did not hit it, a US diplomatic source said here on Thursday. ”Our plane was shot at … but there was no damage,” the source said, adding that the plane completed its mission and returned to the Malian capital, Bamako.

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/ 31 August 2007

Landmines kill 11 in Mali desert conflict

At least 10 civilians and one soldier were killed in northern Mali on Thursday when their vehicles hit landmines planted by suspected Tuareg rebels. The casualties in the north of the Sahel state followed three attacks this week by the Malian rebels in the desolate mountain region near the border with Algeria and Niger.

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/ 27 August 2007

Tuareg rebels kidnap 15 soldiers in Mali

Tuareg rebels from a new group that has reneged on a peace accord with Mali’s government kidnapped 15 soldiers from an eastern town and fled in the direction of Niger, Malian security officials said on Monday. Several security sources said Tuareg leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga was behind the kidnapping.

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/ 6 May 2007

Vote-shy Malians struggle with ballot box

Fifteen years of multiparty democracy in Mali has failed to galvanise voters in the poverty-stricken west African nation, who enjoy the dubious honour of being the world’s most ballot-shy electorate. Last week’s presidential election garnered a turnout of around 36% — actually a comparatively high figure given Mali’s past record.

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/ 3 May 2007

Mali’s President Touré wins election

Mali’s President Amadou Toumani Touré has been re-elected with an absolute majority of votes cast in Sunday’s election, according to official results released on Thursday. Provisional results announced by the Territorial Administration Ministry showed Touré won 68,3% of valid votes, while main challenger Ibrahim Boubacar Keita took 18,6%.

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/ 29 April 2007

Malians vote for new leader

Malians went to the polls on Sunday in presidential elections expected to hand the incumbent a second five-year term and boost the West African country’s democratic credentials. Amadou Toumani Touré, a former coup leader who won democratic acclaim, is seeking a new term as an independent candidate.