ARTICLES RELATING TO MAHAMADOU ISSOUFOU

The Islamists who carried out two attacks last week in Niger which killed 38 people did not come from Libya, as charged by the Niger authorities, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan says.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou paid a morale-boosting visit to troops preparing for battle in the key Islamist stronghold region of Gao.

French President Francois Hollande warned there was a risk of "terrorist" groups setting up in northern Mali and said France would back African bodies seeking a UN mandate to intervene.