- Malian soldiers have killed more than 16 suspected Al-Qaeda members during a raid at their base in the Sahara Desert near the Algerian border, officials have said.
The raid in the northern region also saw government soldiers capturing the base in Aqmi.
The raid came almost two weeks after the Islamists militant group announced that it had killed a British hostage who was taken in Niger on 22 January along with a Swiss citizen and two other tourists in Niger.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which is believed to operate in the Sahara Desert between Algeria, Mali and Niger, has sought to extend its range into nations on the southern edge of the Sahara and has claimed several attacks in the region.
Last week, a senior Malian intelligence officer who was investigating the group was shot dead in Timbuktu. Lieutenant Colonel Lamana Ould Cheikh was believed to have been behind the recent arrest of three alleged militants.
Malian authorities have yet to react to the assassination of a Briton on their territory, but officials in Bamako have said that government has done all its best to secure the release of the Briton.
Mali and Niger, together with Algeria, the most affected by the terrorist cell have called on more international assistance to fight terrorism in the Sahara desert region.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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