BAMAKO: Two UN peacekeepers and a civilian were killed and 14 others were injured in a rocket attack Saturday on a UN base in the northeastern Malian town of Kidal, UN and local sources said.
“Our camp in Kidal was attacked early this morning by terrorists using rockets,” said an official from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA), adding that two Guinean UN peacekeepers and a civilian contractor were killed. A local official confirmed the report.
Another UN source said 14 others were injured in the attack, including three seriously.
The attack came eight days after a siege at a luxury hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako, in which 20 people died including 14 foreigners.
Armed men held around 170 guests and staff hostage in the November 20 siege that lasted about nine hours before Malian and international forces stormed the hotel to free the captives.
Two separate jihadist groups claimed responsibility for the hotel assault: the Al-Murabitoun group, an Al-Qaeda affiliate led by notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, and the Macina Liberation Front (LWF) from central Mali.
Mali has been torn apart by unrest since the north fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.
The Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military intervention early the following year, but large swathes of Mali remain lawless and prone to extremist attacks.
MINUSMA’s mission has been the costliest for UN peacekeepers in terms of human lives since the 1993-95 UNOSOM II mission in Somalia.
France has more than 1,000 troops in Mali, a former colony and a key battleground of its Barkhane counter-terror mission spanning five countries in Africa’s restive Sahel region.
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HANI SHAMIRA SHAHRUDIN
KUALA LUMPUR: A 33-year-old man was killed while his best friend escaped with light injuries when the Honda City they were traveling in erupted in flames after hitting a lorry at Jalan Putra Permai, Seri Kembangan.
Serdang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Razimi Ahmad said investigation revealed the lorry was making a u-turn towards Bandar Putra Permai when the Honda City driven by the victim crashed into it.
"The impact of the crash caused the car to catch fire before exploding," he said.
The driver of the car, a call centre assistant manager identified as Felix Mathews Devason succumbed to his injuries while the authorities managed to save the passenger.
The body was sent to Serdang hospital for post-mortem.
In Kuala Lumpur, a motorcyclist was killed in an accident at KM34.6 of the Middle Ring Road II (MRR2) after hitting a Toyota Hilux.
City traffic police deputy chief Deputy Superintendent S.Markandan said the 38-year-old victim fell from his motorcycle in the 1.30pm crash.
“The impact caused the victim to sustain severe head injuries and he was pronounced dead at the scene,” he said.
The body of the deceased, identified as Yap Soo Lin was sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for post-mortem. --AFP