France warns against travel to Mali over Ebola risk

PARIS (Reuters) - The French foreign ministry warned against travel to Mali due to a second outbreak of Ebola in the former French colony. The ministry said in a statement that since Oct. 24 several cases of Ebola had been confirmed in the capital Bamako and in the western city of Kayes, close to the border with Senegal. French citizens should not travel to, or stay in, the Kayes region or in Bamako and citizens living there should follow guidance from the Mali authorities, the ministry said. Mali is trying to trace as many as 343 people linked to confirmed and probable Ebola victims in an effort to control its second Ebola outbreak, health officials said on Friday. France still has around 1,500 soldiers in its former colony following its military operation early last year to drive out Islamist militants, who had seized control of the country's north. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq, editing by Louise Heavens)