Listeners swayed as the celebrated Malian duo Amadou and Mariam sang from a stage on the banks of the Niger River at an annual festival coloured this year by political shifts roiling West Africa.

Thousands of people from Mali and elsewhere flock to the town of Segou, 230 km (143 miles) northeast of the capital Bamako, every February, for a week-long showcase of Malian music, visual art, ...

for a week-long showcase of Malian music, visual art, theatre and dance. But this year's edition of the Festival sur le Niger took place against the backdrop of Mali's exit - along with Burkina ...