https://freerepublic.com/tag/russiantraining/ en-us Tue, 18 Aug 2020 21:06:05 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3875540/posts Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse have been detained by mutinying soldiers in the capital during an apparent coup attempt. The development on Tuesday came hours after soldiers took up arms and staged a mutiny at a key base in Kati, a town close to Bamako. It followed a weeks-long political crisis that has seen opposition protesters taking to the streets to demand the departure of Keita, accusing him of allowing the country's economy to collapse and mishandling a worsening security situation. Mali's years-long conflict, in which ideologically-motivated armed groups have stoked ethnic tensions while jockeying... alhazeera https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3875540/posts#comment Tue, 18 Aug 2020 21:06:05 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3876630/posts Col. Assimi Goita, who emerged Thursday as the head of the junta in power, worked for years with U.S. Special Operations forces focused on fighting extremism in West Africa. He spoke regularly with U.S. troops and attended U.S.-led training exercises, said officers from both countries, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Goita, who also received training from Germany and France, according to the officers, headed Mali's special forces unit in the country's restive central region, where fighters linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have established a stronghold that... Washington Post https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3876630/posts#comment Sat, 22 Aug 2020 02:26:14 GMT