Bamako

Mali took delivery of more aircraft from Russia as well as drones from Türkiye on March 16, according to an AFP correspondent.

Mali's air force chief, General Alou Boi Diarra, said he had received around 20 aircraft and a dozen drones at a ceremony.

AFP counted five planes and four drones on the tarmac of Bamako airport.

The wall of a house in Torokorobougou, a district in the Malian capital Bamako, suddenly lights up as a black-and-white film starts to roll.

The audience falls silent as the title of the documentary, "Sigui", flashes up on the screen.

A Turkish firm has said it is manufacturing an advanced quick-setup field clinic for an EU training mission in the West African nation of Mali. 

Turmaks, based in the capital Ankara, has started to manufacture the special three-container clinic for the use of the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali), a force for training the country's military. 

Turkey stands ready to help fight the growing threat of terrorism in West Africa under a new strategic partnership that aims to boost trade and other ties with the continent, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said on March 2.

Gunmen launched an attack at a hotel in Bamako, the capital of Mali, in an apparent attempt to take hostages on Friday.

The attackers targeted the Radisson Blu Hotel in the centre of the capital, which is popular with expats working in Mali.

The police has surrounded the area and is blocking the roads leading into the neighbourhood, the BBC informs.

Four people held in a hotel in central Mali by Islamic extremists were freed Saturday by the army and special forces after fighting since Friday left 12 people dead, Mali's defense ministry adviser said.
                   

BELGRADE - An exhibition entitled Great Figures of African and Caribbean Cinematography will be opened at the French Institute in Belgrade on March 12.

The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned an attack in Bamako that killed five people on Saturday.

The machine-gun and grenade attack in Mali's capital left a French citizen, a Belgian security officer and three Malians dead and nine others wounded, international newswires quoted witnesses as saying.

Three Europeans were shot dead at a nightclub in Mali's capital early March 7 in a suspected terror attack that came with the government at a key stage of peace talks with militants in the restive north.

A machine-gun and grenade attack in Mali's capital Bamako has left five people dead, local police say.

Three European nationals, including one French and one Belgian, are among the victims.

Eight other people have been left wounded.

Witnesses quoted by Euronews say attackers yelled "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for meaning "God is Great").