1. November 2013, Bamako

Bamako — The ravages of Mali’s conflict, which paralysed education for almost two years, have disrupted the start of a new school year in the country’s north, where damaged schools, staff shortages and insecurity have set back learning.

Schools reopened across Mali in October. The government and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a back-to-school campaign to help 500,000 children and 9,000 teachers restart schooling. Bamako also set up a scheme to pay civil servants to return to the country’s north.

Northern Mali was overrun by Islamist militants and separatist rebels after the government was overthrown in Bamako in March 2012. The Islamists, who imposed a harsh form of Islamic law, were dislodged by French forces in January. However, security is yet to fully return to the region.

„Despite the measures taken by the government, many teachers have not yet resumed duty in Timbuktu,“ said Mody Abdoulaye Cissé, the Timbuktu education director. He explained that some teachers considered the US$500 government incentive to return to the north too small and felt that it was still unsafe to go back to the region.

„It’s not only a question of money. It’s a matter of life too. Everybody knows that the conflict is not over and there are suicide attackers everywhere. The government is putting the lives of teachers and pupils in danger by opening schools under such conditions. That is why I have decided not to return for the moment,“ said Sekou Sala Koné, a teacher in Timbuktu who is currently living in Bamako.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201311011252.html?aa_source=slideout

23 October 2013, Amnesty International (London)

Elements of Mali’s military appear to be carrying out a purge and extrajudicial killings of soldiers who took part in a mutiny last month in a barracks outside the capital Bamako, Amnesty International said today based on its research.

The bodies of four soldiers were discovered earlier this month near the capital and several others, including a Colonel, remain unaccounted for. These apparent extrajudicial executions and disappearances raise fears that soldiers loyal to General Amadou Haya Sanogo, who staged a coup in March 2012, are purging their ranks to quell dissent.

„This is the latest shocking example of how a small group of soldiers who appear to consider themselves above the law continue to cling onto power in Mali,“ said Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty International’s researcher on West Africa.

The organization is calling for the Malian authorities to open an independent and impartial investigation into these very serious events, and ensure that those allegedly responsible for the acts are suspended from duty and prosecuted. Such investigations will be a crucial addition to the efforts to restore the rule of law after the armed conflict in northern Mali.

„It’s appalling to see that despite the election of a democratically elected president in August 2013, a small group of soldiers loyal to the former junta continue to impose terror on their perceived opponents, in total impunity,“ said Mootoo.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201310241288.html

Last Modified: 13 Oct 2013 08:42

Fifteen children aged under five among the bodies recovered while 23 people are still missing.

At least 22 people, including 15 young children, have died after a boat on the Niger river broke up overnight near the central Malian city of Mopti, officials say.

A senior civil protection official, commander Naman Keita, confirmed the latest toll in Friday’s accident, adding that 15 children aged under five were among the recovered bodies.

Another 23 people were missing.

„We don’t know yet why the boat broke up,“ Commander Dramane Diallo, from the rescue services, told the AFP news agency.

„Investigations are under way. The boat broke at the stern“ in a branch of the river near the village of Koubi, about 70km north of the regional capital Mopti, and 210 passengers survived the accident, he said.

A hospital official in Konna said it was believed as many as 400 passengers may have been aboard the boat at the time of the accident.

3 October 2013

Gao — Rows of shutter-less windows line the administration corridor at a referral health centre in Mali’s northern city of Gao. The centre’s equipment was looted and its staff fled during the nine-month-long Islamist rebel occupation that followed the country’s March 2012 coup; services have just barely resumed.

Healthcare has been severely impaired throughout northern Mali, where the militant Islamists seized key towns during the crisis. The rebels were ousted by French forces in January, but recovery of the sector has been slow.

Nearly half of Gao’s 69 health centres were completely or partially damaged during the Islamist occupation. In the ancient city of Timbuktu, 45 percent of health structures were entirely or partly destroyed, and 70 percent were damaged in the northeastern Kidal region, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
http://allafrica.com/stories/201310041097.html

By Bakari Guèye,  2 October 2013

Nouakchott — Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on Monday (September 30th) claimed responsibility for a twin suicide car bombing that killed two civilians and injured six soldiers in Timbuktu.

The attack on the Malian military base was conducted by the AQIM’s „Imaratou Sahra“ (Desert Emirate) battalion, Alakhbar reported, citing an unnamed al-Qaeda spokesman. The terror group claimed to have killed 16 Malian soldiers and destroyed a number of military vehicles during the Saturday attack.

Malian Internal Security Minister General Sada Samaké went to the bombing site the following day to reassure civilians and soldiers of „the commitment of the government to investigate and punish those responsible for these acts“.

„There are failures, we must have the courage to admit it, but… we will take all measures to ensure that the situation is under control,“ General Samaké added in his statement aired by ORTM public television.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201310031128.html

Drei Jahre nach ihrer Entführung durch al-Qaida ist offenbar ein Video von mehreren europäischen Geiseln aufgetaucht. Das berichtet die mauretanische Nachrichtenagentur ANI. Der französische Außenminister hält die Aufnahmen für glaubwürdig.

Berlin – Die mauretanische Nachrichtenagentur ANI hat eigenen Angaben zufolge ein Video zugespielt bekommen, das mehrere europäische Geiseln der Terrororganisation al-Qaida zeigen soll. Die sieben Entführungsopfer seien in guter Verfassung, zitiert BBC die Agentur.
Das Video stammt offenbar von der Terrororganisation al-Qaida im Islamischen Maghreb (AQMI). Der französische Außenminister ließ über seinen Sprecher mitteilen, er halte die Aufnahmen für glaubwürdig. Sie lieferten einen neuen Beweis dafür, dass die vier im Nigerentführten Franzosen am Leben seien, sagte Philippe Lalliot.
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/geiselnahme-al-qaida-veroeffentlicht-video-von-entfuehrten-europaeern-a-922630.html