Multiple attacks in central and northern Mali has led to the death of two UN peace-keepers on Saturday.
The United Nations mission in Mali said in a statement that “several others” were wounded in two attacks.
The statement said peacekeepers “repelled a complex attack” at the mission’s base in Ber, in the Timbuktu region.
The attack was launched from several trucks armed with “rocket launchers, machine guns and other explosives”, the mission said.
A second attack in Konna, in the central Mopti region, according to the UN mission involved an improvised explosive device (IED).
“According to an initial toll, two peacekeepers were killed and several others were wounded,” it said.
State of emergency extended
Malian officials on Thursday extended the state of emergency in the country by another year.
The state of emergency has been in place since November 2015. It was imposed after a deadly attack on a top hotel in the capital Bamako killing 20 people.
The state of emergency was due to expire at the end of this month but the Malian cabinet decided to approved the extension.
In a statement the government said the extension will allow officials to “reinforce preventive measures to prevent the threat of attacks on people and their goods.”
The government is also hoping the extension buys it more tie to deal with continues violence in the parts of the country.
The Sahel state has been gripped with violence since 2012. Tuareg rebels have been staging an uprising in northern Mali.
Source: Africafeeds.com
