In Mali, dreams and sadness for the Sahel express

Former French colony Mali recently expelled the French ambassador and demanded the withdrawal of the French military. At the same time, the anti-colonialist Yerewolo movement is moving closer to Russia.

The price of staple foods like rice, onions and oil is rising in Senegal - leaving Muslim families who are celebrating Ramadan relying on charity.

The EU will wind down some operations due to continued cooperation between Russian mercenaries and Mali's junta. But the EU says it remains committed to the region.

It was market day in Moura, a remote town in central Mali, when witnesses said Malian troops backed by Russian mercenaries descended in helicopters and opened fire on bewildered residents.

In late March, the Malian armed forces and suspected Russian mercenaries allegedly executed about 300 people in Moura, a village in central Mali. Human Rights Watch opened an investigation into the matter, calling it a massacre. In order to discredit these findings, photos online claim to show hundreds of weapons belonging to civilians, seized by the Malian army. However, the photos have nothing to do with the current situation in Moura. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The French military left a remote base in northern Mali before dawn for the last time last week, with 100 vehicles forming a miles-long convoy across the barren desert terrain. Helicopters whirred above as air support for hundreds of troops in trucks and armoured cars leaving the camp near the town of Gossi.

In a decision that was long time coming, Malian ruling junta pulled the plug on a number of military accords with France. French soldiers and European partners are on track to leave Mali by the end of summer.

Germany is set to draw down its EU deployment in Mali and increase its UN deployment. France is withdrawing from Mali amid friction with the military junta there.

Thousands of West African soldiers fought for France against the Nazis during World War II. But on December 1, 1944, scores of them were gunned down in unclear circumstances by the very French forces they fought alongside. What really happened on that fateful day at the Thiaroye military camp near the Senegalese capital Dakar? Eighty years on, the documentary "Thiaroye 44" takes a closer look at this dark page of French history.

Mali's military junta has announced it will be exiting a multi-national military force tackling an insurgency in West Africa's Sahel region.

An alleged coup attempt in the West African nation sheds light on the tensions facing the interim government of Colonel Assimi Goita. Yet, despite sanctions and isolation, Malians still back the military.

Germany's parliament decided how it will engage militarily with the West African country, which witnessed another coup last year.