revolt

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has few strong cards left to play as he seeks to roll back a jihadist insurgency and mounting public discontent.

Thousands of civilians and soldiers have died since armed Islamists began their revolt in northern Mali in 2012 — a campaign that has spread to the country’s volatile centre and to neighbouring Burkina Faso.

The failure of Mali’s poorly-equipped and the demoralised military is now sparking an outcry, shaking confidence in Keita’s government.

Relatives of dozens of troops killed in twin attacks in central Mali took to the streets on October 2 to accuse the …