Image copyright Getty Images Image caption UN peacekeepers stand guard at a hotel entrance in Bamako, Mali, in 2015

A rocket and car bomb attack on French and UN soldiers in Mali has left one person dead and many others injured.

Militants disguised as UN peacekeepers - in distinctive blue helmets and driving a vehicle marked with the UN logo - struck two bases near the airport in Timbuktu.

The UN mission confirmed one of its peacekeepers had been killed.

More than a dozen others, including many French soldiers, were wounded, according to the government.

In a statement, the security ministry said the attack involved dozens of rockets fired by militants "wearing blue helmets". Two vehicles were also packed with explosives.

One of the vehicles exploded, the ministry said, while the other, bearing the UN symbol, was stopped.

The ministry said that while five people were seriously injured, the fighting had ended and the situation was under control.

Attacks against UN peacekeepers and government forces are common in Mali, a former French colony which also has a French military presence.

But one foreign security source told the AFP news agency the scale of the most recent assault was "unprecedented" in Timbuktu.

"We've never seen an attack like this," a separate official from the Timbuktu governorate said.

The UN mission has been deployed in Mali since a 2013 Tuareg separatist uprising. It has more than 11,000 troops and 1,741 police, and is considered one of the UN's most dangerous missions.

Before Saturday's rocket and car bomb attack, 162 UN personnel had been killed in the five years since the mission began.

Seven peacekeepers have been killed this year.</s>Under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment arrangements, Britain does not require Cypriot consent on how its bases are used, the former foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Saturday.

But he added that it was usual for the British government to inform Cyprus before the bases are used in military operations. Cyprus was apparently not officially informed until midday on Saturday about the attacks on Syria that occurred hours earlier.

A British bases spokesman told the BBC in 2015 “we work on a no-surprise basis and enjoy excellent co-operation with the Republic of Cyprus”.

After Cyprus’ independence in 1960, RAF Akrotiri was never used for direct military action until September 2014 when air attacks were carried out against the Islamic State in Iraq.

Cyprus was traditionally against Britain’s military bases being used in any direct offensive action against neighbouring Arab countries, fearing problems in its relations with states of the region. As part of the war against terror, however, it did not object in 2014 to British airstrikes from Akrotiri against Isis after Iraq itself had requested it.

Then foreign minister Kasoulides said that the “abominable” attacks of November 2015 in Paris had only strengthened Cyprus’ determination to help eliminate the ‘barbarous’ organisation.

This meant Cyprus also did not object in 2015 when Britain offered France the use of Akrotiri for the refuelling of French fighters and serve as a reserve diversion airfield for jets operating from a French aircraft carrier. There were no direct French strikes from the Akrotiri airbase however.

Akrotiri’s proximity to Middle Eastern countries make its use for operations unavoidable as it lies around 180 kilometres from the Syrian coast.

In 1956, British and French warplanes launched strikes from RAF Akrotiri to knock out the Egyptian air force during the Suez Crisis.

In 1960 when Cyprus gained independence, Britain retained 157 square kilometres of territory at Akrotiri/Episkopi and Dhekelia which is using as military bases.

RAF Aktrotiri was used to evacuate 10,000 Britons during the 1974 Turkish invasion. A year later, Vulcan nuclear bombers were withdrawn from the Akrotiri air base.

Following US air strikes on Libya from airfields in UK in 1986, the Akrotiri base was attacked by pro-Libyan militants leading to the wounding of three people.

In September 2014, UK Tornados used RAF Akrotiri for the first time since Suez crisis for direct military action against Isis in Iraq.</s>Militants disguised as U.N. peacekeepers exploded two suicide car bombs and fired dozens of rockets at the French and United Nations bases in Mali’s northern city of Timbuktu on Saturday, killing one and wounding many, Malian authorities said.

The U.N. mission confirmed that the complex attack had killed a U.N. peacekeeper. The Malian government said in addition that 10 French soldiers had been wounded, but the French mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Terrorists wearing blue helmets aboard two cars laden with explosives, including one in the colours of the Malian army and another with a ‘UN’ written in it, attempted to infiltrate these camps,” the Malian government statement said.

“The situation is now under control.”

U.N. peacekeeping and French military forces stationed in northern Mali have been under near-constant attack over the past year by determined and well-armed jihadist groups seen as the gravest threat to security across Africa’s Sahel region.

But even by the standards of Mali’s increasingly emboldened Islamist fighters, Saturday’s attempted breach of two foreign bases at once was ambitious.

“MINUSMA confirms a significant complex attack on its camp in Timbuktu mortars, exchange of fire, vehicle suicide bomb attack,” the mission tweeted. “One blue helmet was killed in the exchange of fire.”

The United Nations last month said 162 people deployed in Mali have been killed since 2013, making it the world’s deadliest peacekeeping operation to date.

A 2015 peace deal signed by Mali’s government and separatist groups has failed to end violence in northern Mali by Islamists, who have also staged assaults on high-profile targets in the capital, Bamako, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

French forces intervened in 2013 to drive back Islamist fighters who had hijacked a Tuareg uprising a year earlier, and some 4,000 French troops remain. The U.N. Security Council then deployed peacekeepers to the country, but they have been targets of a concerted guerrilla campaign.</s>Around 15 militants have been killed in an attack on a United Nations base in northern Mali's historic city of Timbuktu, the French military told AFP on Sunday.

The UN's MINUSMA force said one of its peacekeepers had been killed in Saturday's four-hour rocket, mortar and car bomb attack at international troops' "Super Camp" neighbouring Timbuktu's airport, and around a dozen were wounded.

France said seven of its soldiers were hurt, lowering an initial toll from Malian authorities who had said a dozen French troops were wounded.

Some of the assailants, who have yet to be identified, came disguised as peacekeepers in order to sow confusion among troops trying to repel the attack.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix deplored the assault on Twitter, vowing: "Our determination to support peace in Mali remains unshakeable."

French military spokesman Patrik Steiger said the attackers had "failed in their objective of causing the maximum damage possible".

"Around 15 (attackers) were killed," he added, some of them outside the military camp's outer walls.

"Some attackers managed to enter, including some disguised as peacekeepers," he said, adding the attack had not involved any friendly fire.

Mali's security ministry said Saturday the assailants had tried to detonate two car bombs, one of them a vehicle in the colours of the Malian armed forces and the other carrying the UN logo.

The first exploded while troops managed to immobilise the second, the ministry said.

The French military said there had been three car bombs.

Steiger said allied troops managed to regain control with the help of fighter jets sent from a French base in neighbouring Niger as well as helicopters carrying elite troops.

"By dawn the situation was stable," he said.

Mali's unrest stems from a 2012 Tuareg separatist uprising against the state which was exploited by jihadists in order to take over key cities in the north.

More than a dozen of Timbuktu's holy shrines, built in the 15th and 16th centuries when the city was revered as a centre of Islamic learning, were razed in a campaign against idolatry by Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.

The extremists were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

But vast stretches of the country remain out of the control of Malian, French and UN forces, which are frequent targets of attacks.

The UN's Timbuktu Super Camp, where Saturday's attack took place, was already the scene of an attack last May which killed a Liberian peacekeeper and wounded nine.

In August 2017 armed men launched another assault on the camp, which hosts MINUSMA contingents from numerous countries. Seven security force members and six attackers were killed, according to the UN.</s>The UN's MINUSMA force said one of its peacekeepers had been killed in Saturday's four-hour rocket, mortar and car bomb attack at international troops' "Super Camp" neighbouring Timbuktu's airport. Seven others were wounded along with two civilians.

France said seven of its soldiers were hurt, lowering an initial toll from Malian authorities who had said a dozen French troops were wounded.

Some of the assailants, who have yet to be identified, came disguised as peacekeepers in order to sow confusion among troops trying to repel the attack.

MINUSMA head Mahamat Saleh Annadif praised the peacekeepers who "valiantly repulsed in close coordination with the international forces" this "massive and far-reaching attack".

"This attack illustrates once again the cowardice for terrorist groups in the face of which the United Nations and their partners continue to stand opposed with unfailing determination," he said in a statement.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix deplored the assault on Twitter, vowing: "Our determination to support peace in Mali remains unshakeable."

French military spokesman Patrik Steiger said the attackers had "failed in their objective of causing the maximum damage possible".

"Around 15 (attackers) were killed," he added, some of them outside the military camp's outer walls.

"Some attackers managed to enter, including some disguised as peacekeepers," he said, adding that friendly fire was not involved.

Mali's security ministry said Saturday the assailants had tried to detonate two car bombs, one of them a vehicle in the colours of the Malian armed forces and the other carrying the UN logo.

The first exploded while troops managed to immobilise the second, the ministry said.

The French military said there had been three car bombs.</s>Around 15 militants have been killed in an attack on a United Nations base in northern Mali’s historic city of Timbuktu, the French military told AFP on Sunday.

The UN’s MINUSMA force said one of its peacekeepers had been killed in Saturday’s four-hour rocket, mortar and car bomb attack at international troops’ “Super Camp” neighbouring Timbuktu’s airport, and around a dozen were wounded.

France said seven of its soldiers were hurt, lowering an initial toll from Malian authorities who had said a dozen French troops were wounded.

Some of the assailants, who have yet to be identified, came disguised as peacekeepers in order to sow confusion among troops trying to repel the attack.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix deplored the assault on Twitter, vowing: “Our determination to support peace in Mali remains unshakeable.”

French military spokesman Patrik Steiger said the attackers had “failed in their objective of causing the maximum damage possible”.

“Around 15 (attackers) were killed,” he added, some of them outside the military camp’s outer walls.

“Some attackers managed to enter, including some disguised as peacekeepers,” he said, adding the attack had not involved any friendly fire.

Mali’s Security ministry said Saturday the assailants had tried to detonate two car bombs, one of them a vehicle in the colours of the Malian armed forces and the other carrying the UN logo.

The first exploded while troops managed to immobilise the second, the ministry said.

The French military said there had been three car bombs.

Mr Steiger said allied troops managed to regain control with the help of fighter jets sent from a French base in neighbouring Niger as well as helicopters carrying elite troops.

“By dawn the situation was stable,” he said.

Mali’s unrest stems from a 2012 Tuareg separatist uprising against the state which was exploited by jihadists in order to take over key cities in the north.</s>At least one peacekeeper has been killed and a dozen more injured when suspected terrorists dressed as United Nations peacekeepers attacked two bases in Mali with rockets and car bombs.

The attackers fired a dozen rockets at the bases of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, Minusma, and the French-led Operation Barkhane, Mali's security ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The attack took place on Saturday afternoon, near Timbuktu's airport.

The attackers wore blue helmets and drove vehicles marked with the U.N. acronym. Their vehicles were also rigged with explosives. One of the vehicles exploded, while the other was intercepted by troops.

Ten troops in the Barkhane camp were injured, with five seriously wounded. One Malian soldier was killed, while two others were injured, the statement said.

Security forces are still searching for the attackers.

In a tweet, Under Secretary for Peacekeeping Jean-Pierre Lacroix condemned the attack, but reiterated the U.N.'s unwavering determination to support peace in Mali.</s>A rocket and car bomb attack left one UN peacekeeper dead, a dozen wounded and another dozen French soldiers hurt at Timbuktu’s airport area, Mali’s security ministry said Saturday.

“A terrorist attack targeted” France’s Barkhan camp as well as UN troops stationed outside the northern Mali city during the afternoon, the ministry said on Facebook.

A dozen rockets were fired at the two camps with gunmen dressed as UN blue helmets riding two vehicles rigged with bombs.

“One of the vehicles exploded, while the second bearing the UN sign was halted,” the statement said.

The ministry said the latest casualty toll was one UN soldier dead, a dozen wounded, five of them seriously, and a dozen French soldiers also hurt.

“The fighting ended towards 18h30. The sector is being searched. The situation is under control,” it added.

A foreign security source told AFP that the assault was “unprecedented” in Timbuktu.

The United Nations had earlier released the same toll for its troops.

In a tweet, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali announced, “One blue helmet was killed in gunfire exchanges with the assailants, a dozen wounded.”

MINUSMA had earlier “confirmed a major and complex attack on the camp at Timbuktu this afternoon (mortars + exchanges of fire + suicide attack vehicle)”.

“It’s the first time there has been an attack on this scale against the MINUSMA in Timbuktu,” the security source said.

“We’ve never seen an attack like this,” an official from the Timbuktu governorate told AFP.

Unrest in Mali stems from a 2012 Tuareg separatist uprising against the state, which was exploited by jihadists in order to take over key cities in the north.

More than a dozen of Timbuktu’s holy shrines, built in the 15th and 16th centuries when the city was revered as a centre of Islamic learning, were razed in a campaign against idolatry by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.

The United Nations has nearly 13,000 troops and police in Mali, many of whom are deployed in the country’s lawless north.

Seven UN peacekeepers have been killed in attacks in Mali this year alone, serving in a mission that has been described as the UN’s most dangerous.

A total of 102 have been killed since MINUSMA’s deployment began in 2013.

Islamist extremists linked to Al-Qaeda took control of the desert north of Mali in early 2012, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

Insurgents remain active, linked to drug, arms and migrant trafficking in the vast Sahel region.</s>Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on attack against United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in Timbuktu, Mali: The Secretary-General condemns the attack on the MINUSMA and French operation Barkhane’s camps in Timbuktu on 14 April, during which one peacekeeper from Burkina Faso was killed, and seven peacekeepers, seven French… […]

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on attack against U...



Source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...</s>In four and a half hours of fighting about 10 UN troops and as many soldiers with France's Barkhane operation were injured, according to Mali's security ministry.

A dozen rockets were fired at the UN and French bases at to the city's airport. At the same time gunmen dressed as UN blue helmets tried to enter the compounds in two vehicles rigged with bombs, one bearing the Malian military's marking, the other the UN's.

Only one of the vehicles exploded.

"At the turn towards the airport I noticed that there was a first vehicle, a white pick-up truck with UN insignia, that had been stopped with its charge of explosives," Timbuktu journalist Yéya Tandina told RFI. "I felt there was panic in the ranks of Minusma. They were firing all over the place."

Six local residents, including a 10-year-old child, were hospitalised with bullet wounds, the local hospital said.

Sources told the AFP news agency that this is the first attack on such a scale against the UN forces in Timbuktu.

The United Nations has nearly 13,000 troops and police in Mali, many of them deployed in the north of the country where French forces have been operating since an Islamist and Tuareg separatist revolt in 2013.

Some 1,500 African, American and European troops have been training in the west and north of neighbouring Niger.

They will reinforce the G5 Sahel force of African nations fighting armed Islamists in the region.
Militants disguised as United Nations troops attack two military bases near Timbuktu, Mali, using rockets and two car bombs. At least one soldier at the bases, used by France and the UN, is killed and more than twelve others are wounded.