One dead as militants attack UN camp in Mali

BAMAKO (AFP) - Suspected militants on Friday (Feb 5) attacked a United Nations military camp in the fabled city of Timbuktu in Mali's restive north, leaving a Malian soldier dead and at least one peacekeeper wounded, security sources said.

Shots were still being heard in the area at the end of the morning, after hours of fighting, a source in the UN peacekeeping force in Mali (Minusma) and the Malian army told AFP.

"A Malian officer who was taking part in the hunt for the terrorists was unfortunately killed," a Malian military source said, adding that the soldier died when a wall collapsed on his armoured vehicle.


"We are currently searching for terrorists who are hiding in the buildings," the source said. The clashes were taking place around a large former hotel located between Timbuktu and its airport.

The army had reports that a vehicle being used by the suspected Islamists had "infiltrated the town of Timbuktu itself," the military source added.



"Six to seven terrorists arrived very early in the morning at a Minusma camp in Timbuktu. They blew up their vehicle before attacking the camp with mortars," a source in the UN mission said.