Two U.N. soldiers were killed and about 30 others were wounded Friday when suspected Islamic militants attacked a United Nations peacekeepers base in the northeastern Mali town of Kidal, U.N. sources said.
"Our camp at Kidal was attacked by terrorists early Friday morning. We fought back but two peacekeepers were killed and 30 others injured," a source from the U.N.'s MINUSMA mission told AFP.
This testimony follows a statement from a U.N. spokesman who said that the attack began at 6:45 a.m., noting that the enemy assault consisted of eight mortar shells and some gunfire. However, there wasn't a definitive count on how many were injured or killed in the attack at the time, with the spokesman only saying that there were "some dead and wounded in the attack."
The attacked base is part of the U.N.'s MINUSMA (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali) mission to maintain peace in the country after it briefly fell under control of Tuareg-led rebels and armed groups linked to al Qaeda in 2012, according to Newsweek.
They were mostly ousted in 2013 after a French-led military operation forced the militants out of key towns, but the U.N.'s presence hasn't stopped the violence, and armed groups still continue to threaten stability.
Militants have begun to ramp up their attacks as of late, expanding to other parts of Mali and beyond, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Such instances include the Nov. 20 attack on a hotel in Mali's capital city of Bamako that left 20 people dead, as well as a similar attack on the Splendid Hotel in Burkino Faso's capital city of Ouagadougou on Jan. 18 that left 29 dead.
