January 9 – The West African nations of the 15-member bloc ECOWAS suspend diplomatic relations with Mali and announce that they are closing their borders with and imposing economic sanctions on Mali in response to an "unacceptable delay" to the country's next general election.[2]
January 14 – Operation Barkhane: Sweden announces that it will withdraw its troops from a French-led special forces mission in Mali later this year, in response to Mali's ruling military junta inviting private Russian military contractors to fight Islamist rebels. The deployment was originally expected to end in 2024.[3]
January 26 – The Malian junta demands that Denmark withdraw its forces from the country, saying they were never given authorization to participate in the ongoing European-led peacekeeping operations.
January 31 – The Malian military junta orders the French ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours in response to "outrageous comments" made by the French authorities about Mali's transitional government.[5]
February 18 – Eight Malian soldiers and 57 Islamist militants are killed during a gunfight in the Archam region, after 40 civilians were killed there during terrorist attacks last week.[8]
March 24 – The UEMOA court orders sanctions against Mali to be suspended. The sanctions were imposed on the junta in January after elections were delayed.[11]
May 21 – An elderly Italian couple and their son are kidnapped by jihadists in Southern Mali. A Togolese citizen is also reported to have been kidnapped along with the Italians, but authorities say that they are unable to confirm if this is true.[16]
June 1 – Two Red Cross workers are killed in an attack by unknown militants in Mali.[17] A Jordanian member of the MINUSMA peacekeeping force is also killed and three others are injured in Kidal Region.[18]
June 6 – Malian junta leader Assimi Goïta declares that Mali will return to civilian rule in March 2024. It was supposed to occur this February until being delayed, prompting sanctions from its neighbors.[19]
July 22 – The Macina Liberation Front launches an attack on Mali's largest military base in Bamako. One soldier and six of the attackers are killed.[25]
August to December
August 7 – Forty-two soldiers and four civilians are killed during an attack near the town of Tessit by Islamic State in the Greater Sahara gunmen. Twenty-two other soldiers are wounded, and 37 of the attackers are also killed.[26]
August 18 – Mali accuses its former ally France of arming jihadistterrorist groups to destabilize the country. Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop tells the United Nations that French aircraft are violating the country's airspace and dropping "arms and ammunition" to terrorist groups on the ground. France denies the accusations.[29]
Years in Mali (1960–present)