Four years after the military ousted Mali’s then-president and came to power, many residents say economic troubles are worsening and constant power cuts are hurting businesses.
Russia pledged at the United Nations on Monday to keep providing "comprehensive assistance" to Mali, where about 1,000 fighters with Russia's Wagner mercenary group are helping the West African state.
A day before mercenary boss Prigozhin's plane crash, a Russian official visited Libya to reassure allies that fighters from the Wagner Group would remain in the country -but under Moscow's control.
Niger has authorised Mali and Burkina Faso's armed forces to intervene on its territory in case of an attack, the countries said in a joint statement on Thursday.
Mali's troops and foreign security partners, believed to be Wagner mercenaries, are using violence against women and other "grave human rights abuses" to spread terror, U.N. sanctions monitors said.
Air France has suspended flights to and from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Bamako in Mali until Aug. 11, the company said on Monday, after Niger's junta closed its airspace on Sunday.