France has withdrawn its first batch of 100 troops out of the 4,000 deployed in Mali as it prepares to hand over operations to a UN peacekeeping force, with 1,000 French troops to remain on the ground by the end of the year. However, fears are mounting that Mali will become a drawn-out war, spilling into other regions and fueling terrorism. France justified its January intervention into Mali as a... 

Leader of the recent military coup d’état in Mali Amadou Haya Sanogo (C) among his fellow soldiers in the capital city of Bamako, March 22, 2012 Tuareg rebels say they have gained control of Mali’s strategically important town of Timbuktu in the north as the coup leader pledges to bring back order to the country. The rebels announced in a statement that they have “control of the entire region”... 

Reports from Mali say three Europeans have been kidnapped and a fourth killed at Timbuktu in the north of the country. The information comes from a Malian government source. The person killed is said to be German; the others’ nationalities are from the Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden, officials and witnesses said, as officials on Saturday ordered a plane to evacuate foreigners from the tourist...