Two Malian customs officers have been killed in a suspected jihadist attack at a market in the small village of Toubakoro, security sources told AFP on Wednesday.

"Two customs officers were killed, a terrorist too," according to one source.

The attackers arrived in Toubakoro, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital Bamako, on motorcycles and were armed, said another source, adding that, "there was a great panic in the village".

"The jihadists were well informed about the comings and goings of the security forces," said an elected representative who was near the market at the time.

"The jihadists fired at a customs vehicle," he added.

Islamic extremists linked to Al-Qaeda took control of the desert north of Mali in early 2012, but were largely driven out by a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

However, large tracts of the country remain lawless and jihadists have continued to carry out attacks against civilians and security forces.

Newly-appointed Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said earlier this month that "urgent measures" were required to address Al-Qaeda-linked groups.

Defence sources have told AFP that the military aims to deploy some 1,000 soldiers to take back control of the country's restive centre.

French forces are still operating in Mali as part of Operation Barkhane, an offensive deployed in five countries -- Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso.

These countries form the so-called G5 Sahel force, a French-supported group that aims to combat jihadists in the region.

Gambia army arrests two renegade generals
Banjul, Gambia (AFP) Jan 23, 2018 - Two renegade generals who left The Gambia to go into exile with former president Yahya Jammeh last year have been arrested after returning to the tiny West African nation, the army has confirmed.

General Ansumana Tamba and General Umpa Mendy had sought refuge in Equatorial Guinea alongside Jammeh in January 2017 after his brutal 22-year rule came to an end.

The pair are believed to have arrived in their home country on Sunday on a flight from Morocco but were not stopped by airport security.

Gambia Chief of Defence Staff, General Masaneh Kinteh, told local radio on Monday that the pair were "arrested by the members of the Gambia Armed Forces Military Police" at different locations.

He added that the military was investigating how the two wanted men were not detained at the airport.

"Umpa Mendy was found at his residence, I believe somewhere in Busumbala while General Tamba was also found at his residence in... I think Yarambaba."

The generals are being held at Yundum barracks close to the airport in the capital Banjul, a military source told AFP on Tuesday.

Both had worked to protect Jammeh. Tamba was his state guard commander, while Mendy had been employed as his chief protection officer.

Jammeh, who came to power via a military coup in 1994, was forced from power last year after losing a democratic election.

Elements of The Gambia's armed forces are known to have maintained support for the former president and last year a number of soldiers went on trial on treason and mutiny charges for plotting to overthrow the country's newly elected government.

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Seven Niger troops killed in Boko Haram attack
Niamey (AFP) Jan 20, 2018
At least seven Niger soldiers were killed and more than a dozen others wounded this week in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants in the country's southeast, the government said on Friday. "The provisional toll for the cowardly terror attack on Wednesday night in Toummour is seven dead, seventeen wounded and one soldier missing," said a cabinet statement. Toummour is located in the ... read more

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