36 Malian gendarmes defect, get arrested [The Morning Call]

Now we move on to our second story. In Mali, Thirty-six Malian gendarmes from an elite unit were arrested near Bamako after defecting their posts in central region of the country where they were

participating in an operation to fight against jihadists. The Force of rapid action of the gendarmerie (FARDGEND) was created in September 2017. According to local representative, the deserting soldiers

from the group were “heavily armed” upon their arrival at Baguineda near Bamako.