French forces have killed a top jihadist leader, Yahya Abou El Hamame, in an operation in Mali, Defence Minister Florence Parly said Friday.

The Algerian, a commander in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was reputedly responsible for kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa.

A ministry statement issued in Paris said he was "the mastermind and financier of several attacks".

El Hamame was killed Thursday when French land and air forces ambushed a column of vehicles he was travelling with north of Timbuktu, Parly said.

He reportedly served as AQIM's "governor" in Timbuktu when the city was held by Islamist rebels from April 2012 to January 2013.

A number of other "terrorists" were "neutralised", Parly added.

El Hamame was believed to be second in command of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), also known as Nusrat al-Islam, led by Iyad Ag Ghali.

The group was formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and El Hamame's Saharan branch of AQIM.

The operation was announced as Parly, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were due to visit Mali, where some 4,500 French troops have been deployed since 2014 to reconquer the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters.

French forces have killed a top jihadist leader, Yahya Abou El Hamame, in an operation in Mali, Defence Minister Florence Parly said Friday. The Algerian, a commander in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was reputedly responsible for kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa.

French forces have killed a top jihadist leader, Yahya Abou El Hamame, in an operation in Mali, Defence Minister Florence Parly said Friday. The Algerian, a commander in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was reputedly responsible for kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa. A ministry statement issued in Paris said he was "the mastermind and financier of several attacks". El Hamame was killed Thursday when French land and air forces ambushed a column of vehicles he was travelling with north of Timbuktu, Parly said. He reportedly served as AQIM's "governor" in Timbuktu when the city was held by Islamist rebels from April 2012 to January 2013. A number of other "terrorists" were "neutralised", Parly added. El Hamame was believed to be second in command of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), also known as Nusrat al-Islam, led by Iyad Ag Ghali. The group was formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and El Hamame's Saharan branch of AQIM. The operation was announced as Parly, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were due to visit Mali, where some 4,500 French troops have been deployed since 2014 to reconquer the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters.

France says kills top Al-Qaeda commander in Africa's Sahel region

Security forces in Burkina Faso have carried out extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and other abuses in their campaign against terrorism, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.

A 60-page report by the US-based watchdog said Sahel villagers found themselves caught between jihadists, who threatened to kill those who collaborated with the government, and the security forces, who expected local people to give them information about the insurgents.

HRW said it had documented the execution-style killing by Islamists of 19 men from 12 villages who had been accused of providing tips to the security forces.

On the government's side, witnesses implicated the security forces in "at least" 14 alleged summary executions and said four other men died in custody from mistreatment.

"Many witnesses described seeing bodies -– often blindfolded and with their hands bound -– along local roads and footpaths in northern Burkina Faso," the report said.

"The majority of victims were last seen in the custody of government security forces."&nbsp

Northern Burkina Faso has been in the grip of a jihadist insurgency since 2016.

Armed groups including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) have attacked army bases, police and gendarme posts and carried out a campaign of intimidation against officials and teachers.

The violence has killed scores of people and driven over 12,000 from their homes, HRW said.

The fatalities include 47 civilians murdered by jihadists in two attacks in the capital Ouagadougou in 2016 and 2017.

"The growing insecurity in Burkina Faso has led to terrible crimes by both armed Islamists and state security forces,” said Corinne Dufka, HRW's Sahel director.&nbsp

"The government should follow through on its important commitment to investigate alleged abuses by state forces, and the armed Islamists should stop attacking and threatening civilians."

Responding to the accusations, Defence Minister Jean-Claude Bouda said that he was already "aware of certain allegations of abuses" against civilians in counter-terrorism operations.

"The government undertakes to carry out inquiries into all the cases of abuse referred to (in the report) which had not already been brought to its attention," Bouda said.

Northern Burkina Faso has been in the grip of a jihadist insurgency since 2016

Security forces in Burkina Faso have carried out extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and other abuses in their campaign against terrorism, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday. A 60-page report by the US-based watchdog said Sahel villagers found themselves caught between jihadists, who threatened to kill those who collaborated with the government, and the security forces, who expected local people to give them information about the insurgents. HRW said it had documented the execution-style killing by Islamists of 19 men from 12 villages who had been accused of providing tips to the security forces. On the government's side, witnesses implicated the security forces in "at least" 14 alleged summary executions and said four other men died in custody from mistreatment. "Many witnesses described seeing bodies -– often blindfolded and with their hands bound -– along local roads and footpaths in northern Burkina Faso," the report said. "The majority of victims were last seen in the custody of government security forces." Northern Burkina Faso has been in the grip of a jihadist insurgency since 2016. Armed groups including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) have attacked army bases, police and gendarme posts and carried out a campaign of intimidation against officials and teachers. The violence has killed scores of people and driven over 12,000 from their homes, HRW said. The fatalities include 47 civilians murdered by jihadists in two attacks in the capital Ouagadougou in 2016 and 2017. "The growing insecurity in Burkina Faso has led to terrible crimes by both armed Islamists and state security forces,” said Corinne Dufka, HRW's Sahel director. "The government should follow through on its important commitment to investigate alleged abuses by state forces, and the armed Islamists should stop attacking and threatening civilians." Responding to the accusations, Defence Minister Jean-Claude Bouda said that he was already "aware of certain allegations of abuses" against civilians in counter-terrorism operations. "The government undertakes to carry out inquiries into all the cases of abuse referred to (in the report) which had not already been brought to its attention," Bouda said.

Rights watchdog lashes Burkina over army 'abuses'

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France says kills top Al-Qaeda commander in Africa's Sahel region

Rights watchdog lashes Burkina over army 'abuses'