Ibrahim Boubacar Keita

Mali's army reinforced security on Wednesday around two ethnic Dogon villages where 41 people were killed, according to a UN count, as survivors recounted how attackers from a rival community identified victims one by one before executing them.

Thirty-eight people were killed and many others wounded in attacks on two ethnic Dogon villages in central Mali, the government said on Tuesday, in the latest in a cycle of violence in the volatile Sahel country.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised aid to strengthen security in jihadist-hit Burkina Faso. Merkel, who also attended a G5 meeting of Sahel country leaders in Ouagadougou, is due in Mali and Niger.

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has appointed a new prime minister, days after the government resigned amid a spike in violence in the restive West African country.

At least 10 Malian soldiers died Sunday in an attack by suspected jihadists in the centre of the African country, a security source told AFP.

Mali’s government on Sunday announced the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of a militia, a day after the massacre of more than 130 Muslims, including women and children.

Traditional Dogon hunters massacred 33 Fulani herders in central Mali Tuesday in the latest clash between the warring communities, a lawmaker and a security source told AFP.

The ECOWAS Heads of State and Government have charged Nigeria and Senegal to leave no stone unturned in ensuring the conduct of elections are peaceful, free and transparent.

France kicks off a week of World War I commemorations from Sunday, with some 80 leaders from around the globe preparing to fly in for a ceremony marking a century since the guns fell silent.

Mali's constitutional court delayed the country's parliamentary elections until 2019 by extending the mandate of MPs for six months, as requested by the National Assembly on Monday, according to the two institutions.

The Malian government on Thursday delayed by a month legislative elections initially scheduled for October 28, citing delays in registering candidates.

The migrant hero nicknamed “Spiderman” for saving a child hanging off a balcony by scaling a Paris apartment block with his bare hands has become a French citizen, according to a government decree.

Mali's president has reappointed Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga and ordered him to form a new government, a statement from the presidency said on Wednesday.

Keita took his oath before Supreme Court judge Nouhoum Tapily during a small ceremony held at the cultural palace in the capital Bamako.

Thousands of supporters of Mali's leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita marched through the capital on Sunday, a day after opponents held a protest against his re-election in a disputed presidential run-off.

Thousands of supporters of Mali's defeated opposition election candidate took to the streets in Bamako Saturday to protest the poll result, organisers said.

Members of the UN Security Council have welcomed the publication of the final results of the presidential polls in Mali, which saw the re-election of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali on winning the country’s election for a second term in office.