The Latest Breaking News from Mali

French officials head to Niger on Friday to redefine the country's strategy to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel as thousands of troops complete a withdrawal from Mali and concerns mount over the growing threat to coastal West African states.

Ivory Coast on Tuesday demanded the release of 49 of its soldiers arrested in Mali, an incident that may worsen tensions between Mali's military rulers and other West African nations amid efforts to quell an Islamist insurgency and restore democratic rule.

The Sahel – a 5,000km long strip of the African continent stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea – has become the most neglected and conflict-ridden part of the planet. Millions of people have been displaced in the region. Mass murders and property destruction occur almost daily.

Malian authorities have arrested 49 soldiers from Cote d’Ivoire, describing them as mercenaries who were planning to stop the protection and reform of the country.

The Anglophone pivot comes on the back of successive coups in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso to dump pro-French leaders.

Malian authorities arrested nearly 50 soldiers from Ivory Coast who came to Mali to work for a contracting company of the United Nations mission in Mali. The government made the announcement Monday calling the Ivorian soldiers “mercenaries,” in a move that could raise tensions between the two West African countries.

The country is emerging as a critical ally in a neighbourhood of failing states

Thousands have exchanged fighting between government forces, jihadists and mercenaries linked to Russia, for the meagre security of border camps

Sixty-one others were rescued and those healthy enough were taken to a detention centre in Libya.

Twenty-two Malian migrants died in a boat disaster off the Libyan coast, the UN said Tuesday, citing survivors who reported victims drowning and dehydrating with three children reportedly among the dead. After nine days at sea, 61 survivors, mostly from Mali, were rescued by the Libyan coastguard and brought back…

The West African country has experienced a wave of attacks in recent years as insecurity has spread across the Sahel.