Mali sends back two people deported from France on the same plane they came on....
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• Crimes against refugee centers in Germany down slightly in 2016 </s> GAO, Mali (AP) — Authorities in Mali have returned two people to France after French authorities apparently deported them to this West African country without proof of their nationality.

Government spokesman Djeneba Deme said Friday the passengers' nationality was not immediately known and that they were flying only with a travel document issued by the European Union.

The incident comes amid tensions between the EU and African countries over the repatriation of illegal migrants. An untold number of West Africans attempt the dangerous passage to Europe by desert and sea each year in hope of a better life.

A Mali government statement says the country will not accept any visitors presumed to be Malian without a passport or Mali-issued travel documents.

French officials declined to comment, saying they were unaware of the case. </s> Mali has sent back two people who were deported from France on the same planes they arrived on, questioning whether they were even Malian citizens.

The pair were flown to Bamako using European travel permits or “laissez-passer”, not passports or other Malian papers, the government said.

The government said it could not accept people “simply assumed to be Malian”.

Recent reports of a deal with the EU to repatriate failed Malian asylum seekers have sparked protests.

In a statement, the Malian government condemned the use of the European “laissez-passez” in cases of expulsion, describing it as “against international conventions”.

It also warned airlines not to let people using the document fly to Mali.

The French authorities have not yet commented.

Malians are among the sub-Saharan African nationalities most deported from France:

There is a large Malian community in France, the former colonial power, who support their relatives back home by sending money.

More than 360,000 people have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean this year.

Many pass through Mali on their way although Malians are not among the 10 nationalities most likely to attempt the journey.

A $1.9bn (£1.2bn) European Union-backed fund to tackle African migration was announced in November 2015, with African leaders agreeing to allow the return of failed asylum seekers in return for development aid. </s> Mali has sent back two people who were deported from France on the same planes they arrived on, questioning whether they were even Malian citizens.

The pair were flown to Bamako using European travel permits or "laissez-passez", not passports or other Malian papers, the government said.

The government said it could not accept people "simply assumed to be Malian".

Recent reports of a deal with the EU to repatriate failed Malian asylum seekers have sparked protests.

In a statement, the Malian government condemned the use of the European "laissez-passez" in cases of expulsion, describing it as "against international conventions".

It also warned airlines not to let people using the document fly to Mali.
• Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?

There is a large Malian community in France, the former colonial power, which supports their relatives back home by sending money.

More than 360,000 people have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean this year, Many pass through Mali on their way although Malians are not among the 10 nationalities most likely to attempt the journey.

Mali has denied that it agreed to enable the return from Europe of Malian migrants as part of a deal that was heralded in December by senior European diplomats as the first of its kind.

A $1.9bn (£1.2bn) European Union-backed fund to tackle African migration was announced in November 2015, with African leaders agreeing to allow the return of failed asylum seekers in return for development aid. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Mali warned airlines to check the documents of people being deported

Mali has sent back two people who were deported from France on the same planes they arrived on, questioning whether they were even Malian citizens.

The pair were flown to Bamako using European travel permits or "laissez-passer", not passports or other Malian papers, the government said.

The government said it could not accept people "simply assumed to be Malian".

Recent reports of a deal with the EU to repatriate failed Malian asylum seekers have sparked protests.

In a statement, the Malian government condemned the use of the European "laissez-passez" in cases of expulsion, describing it as "against international conventions".

It also warned airlines not to let people using the document fly to Mali.

The French authorities have not yet commented.

Malians are among the sub-Saharan African nationalities most deported from France:

Senegal - 540

Mali - 290

Ivory Coast - 270

Nigeria - 235

Guinea - 165

Source: Eurostat, 2015

Migrant deal bites back: By Alex Duval Smith, BBC News, Abidjan

Mali's refusal to admit the two migrants comes as Bamako is under fire at home for having signed a ''migrant return agreement'' with the European Union.

Many Malians claim the government has betrayed them by accepting €145m ($153m; £124m) for ''measures to deter migration''.

The deal, announced on 11 December, was the first of its kind between the EU and an African country.

The Malian anti-corruption group "mains propres'' (clean hands) says the authorities in Bamako were tricked by Brussels, whose own rules require such an agreement before mass expulsions can be triggered..

Bamako and Brussels are now both playing the deal down as ''an agreement with a small A'' or ''a communique on deepening migration partnership''.

The EU has since signed a similar document with Niger, which is another major departure country for migrants heading through the Sahara desert on their way to Europe.

There is a large Malian community in France, the former colonial power, who support their relatives back home by sending money.

More than 360,000 people have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean this year.

Many pass through Mali on their way although Malians are not among the 10 nationalities most likely to attempt the journey.

More about the migrant crisis:

A $1.9bn (£1.2bn) European Union-backed fund to tackle African migration was announced in November 2015, with African leaders agreeing to allow the return of failed asylum seekers in return for development aid. </s> The pair were flown to Bamako using European travel permits or "laissez-passez", not passports or other Malian papers, the government said.

The government said it could not accept people "simply assumed to be Malian".

Recent reports of a deal with the EU to repatriate failed Malian asylum seekers have sparked protests.

In a statement, the Malian government condemned the use of the European "laissez-passez" in cases of expulsion, describing it as "against international conventions".

It also warned airlines not to let people using the document fly to Mali.

The French authorities have not yet commented.

Malians are among the sub-Saharan African nationalities most deported from France:

There is a large Malian community in France, the former colonial power, who support their relatives back home by sending money.

More than 360,000 people have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean this year.

Many pass through Mali on their way although Malians are not among the 10 nationalities most likely to attempt the journey. </s> France is planning to repatriate more than 100 Isil suspects from Syria amid fears they could lose track of them after US troops withdraw from the war-torn country.

France is planning to repatriate more than 100 Isil suspects from Syria amid fears they could lose track of them after US troops withdraw from the war-torn country.

Some 130 Isil suspects being held in custody by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in prisons across northern Syria are to be sent back within the next few weeks, according to French channel BFMTV.

"All those who will return to France will be entrusted to the judges. The judge will decide that it will be necessary to put them in prison," Christophe Castaner, France's Interior Minister, told BFMTV.

"The Americans are disengaging from Syria… There are now people in prison who are being held because the Americans are there and who are going to be released… They'll want to return to France."

Among those in SDF custody are a number of senior French Isil leaders including Adrien Guihal, a Muslim who was part of the infamous Artigat network that masterminded several attacks in France, including one in Nice which killed 87 people.

Such a decision would make France the first European country to take back citizens arrested on suspicion of links to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

Only the US, Lebanon, Russia, Indonesia and Sudan, have so far agreed to repatriate their nationals.

Thousands of other foreign Isil members in SDF detention remain in limbo, including six British male Isil suspects, seven women and 12 of their children.

Britain and other countries have expressed reluctance to take back those with links to Isil, citing fears they represent a security threat.

They have also indicated concern about evidential and legal challenges that would prevent them from prosecuting returning extremists.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, the two so-called Beatles jihadists, have had their UK citizenship revoked.

The Kurdish-led SDF has been supported on the ground by US special forces, as well as British and French.

However, US President Donald Trump announced he was to bring home 2,000 American troops within months.

Following the announcement, Turkey, which considers Kurdish militants fighting with the SDF to be terrorists, threatened to carry out an assault on Kurdish-held areas near their shared border.

The Kurds warned they may not be able to keep jihadists inside their jails.

There also remains the possibility that the SDF, which has begun talks with the Bashar al-Assad government, could hand over prisoners to the regime.

Tens of thousands have disappeared inside government prisons, where many were executed without trial.

"Reversal of French policy with respect to Isil suspects held in northern Syria, as France finally agrees to take its nationals back," Nadim Houry, director of the counterterrorism programme at Human Rights Watch, tweeted. "This may be unpopular but it is the right thing to do. Prosecute those who committed crimes, reintegrate children."

The plan provoked outrage on the right. Eric Ciotti, a conservative MP from the main opposition party, the Republicans, said: "The place of jihadists who betrayed our nation and fought our civilisation is no longer in France. Let them be judged in Iraq or Syria."

Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, also took exception to a remark by Mr Castaner that those in Syria and Iraq "are jihadists, but they were French first". "Non @CCastaner They are jihadists, they should no longer be French," she tweeted. (© Daily Telegraph London) </s> France is reporting planning to repatriate more than 100 Isil suspects from Syria amid fears they could lose track of them after US troops withdraw from the war-torn country.

Some 130 Islamic State suspects being held in custody by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in prisons across northern Syria are to be sent back within the next few weeks, according to French channel BFMTV.

"All those who will return to France will be entrusted to the judges. The judge will decide that it will be necessary to put them in prison," Christophe Castaner, France’s Interior Minister, told BFMTV.

“The Americans are disengaging from Syria… There are now people in prison who are being held because the Americans are there and who are going to be released… They’ll want to return to France.”

Among those in SDF custody are a number of senior French Isil leaders including Adrien Guihal, a Muslim who was part of the infamous Artigat network that masterminded several attacks in France, including one in Nice which killed 87 people.

Such a decision would make France the first European country to take back citizens arrested on suspicion of links to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). Only the US, Lebanon, Russia, Indonesia and Sudan, have so far agreed to repatriate their nationals. </s> The two French hostages freed by Special Forces in Burkina Faso after being kidnapped in neighboring Benin arrived back in France on Saturday, along with a South Korean woman also freed during the military raid.

President Emmanuel Macron greeted the hostages as they disembarked from the plane sent to fetch them at the Villacourblay military airport southwest of Paris, according to AFP reporters at the scene.
Mali returns two people France deported on the same planes they arrived on.