Gunmen attack peacekeepers in Mali

An official from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), whose name was not released in reports, said the assault took place in the town of Kidal on Saturday. “We have three dead and four seriously injured”.

He said almost five rockets landed inside the base in Kidal. “Quite a few people were wounded, but it’s too early for a precise number”, spokesman Olivier Salgado told Reuters.

It is in northern Mali, which was occupied by Islamist fighters including groups linked to al-Qaeda in 2012.

He did not name the victims’ nationalities although a United Nations source said two were peacekeepers from neighbouring Guinea.

French troops and U.N forces are having difficulty stabilising the area since Islamist militants attacked a hotel in the capital on November 20, killing 20 people.

But violence has continued. The Al-Murabitoun group, an Al-Qaeda affiliate led by notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, nicknamed the “Uncatchable” or “Mr Marlboro”, claimed that attack.

Security analysts say the groups could be collaborating.

Other West African governments are also battling Islamist militants.