{"id":39478,"date":"2026-07-13T15:09:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=39478"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:09:04","slug":"au-resumes-direct-talks-with-mali-authorities-over-sahel-security","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/au-resumes-direct-talks-with-mali-authorities-over-sahel-security\/","title":{"rendered":"AU resumes direct talks with Mali authorities over Sahel security"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has arrived in Bamako for a two-day official visit to discuss regional security and the ongoing political transition.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This is the first major meeting between the AU and Malian authorities since the country was suspended from the continental body in June 2021 following a military coup. The visit indicates that the AU is looking to restart direct talks with military-led governments in the region to address instability.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>During his time in the capital, the AU Chief will meet with Transitional President General Assimi Go\u00efta, following an opening meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Abdoulaye Diop. The discussions follow recent recommendations from the AU Peace and Security Council, which called for closer communication with Bamako to support a return to democratic rule while respecting Mali&#8217;s independence.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Beyond transition timelines, the talks are expected to focus on counter-insurgency efforts and how the AU will work alongside the newly formed Confederation of Sahelian States, which includes Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Officials hope the visit will help map out a clearer path for co-operation between the bloc and the transitional administration.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;ChannelAfrica\/AU&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39482,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-39478","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Mali hosts AU Commission Chairperson to discuss Sahel security and political transition","published_date":"2026-07-13 15:07:22","news_description":"Mali hosts AU Commission Chairperson to discuss Sahel security and political transition","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39483,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39478\/revisions\/39483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=39478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}