On Monday night, reinforcements were deployed to both UN bases which had been attacked and in the city of Timbuktu itself. A UN peacekeeper and a Malian soldier were killed in the early-morning attack in Douentza in the central region of Mopti on Monday. Another peacekeeper was slightly wounded.

Hours later, six men with guns and grenades drove up to the UN mission camp in Timbuktu in the north west of the country and opened fire on the Malian UN security guards. Five of the guards were killed together with a policeman and a civilian contractor. The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said that peacekeepers managed to kill six assailants after the attack, using a helicopter to track them down. Two suspected gunmen were killed in Douentza.

UN Special Representative for Mali Mahamat Saleh Saleh Annadif issued a statement saying: "I don't have enough words to condemn this cowardly and ignoble act a few hours after the terrorist attack we endured in Douentza."  "We must combine all our efforts in order to identify and apprehend those responsible for these terrorist acts so that they can answer to their crimes in court," Annadif added.

Courtesy:DW