UN PEACEKEEPERS KILLED IN MALI

Five United Nations peacekeepers have been
killed and another was seriously injured in an
attack in central Mali.
The soldiers - who were from Togo - were
travelling in the Mopti region when their
vehicle came under fire before hitting a
landmine.
The area is known as a stronghold for the

Macina Liberation Front, a jihadist group with
suspected al-Qaeda links.
The UN mission was set up in 2013 to
stabilise Mali following a rebellion by Islamist
and Tuareg fighters.
Militants have been mounting sporadic
assaults on peacekeepers in northern and
central regions.
Why Mali is an insurgent hotspot
Mali profile
No group has said it carried out the latest
attack.
It occurred near the town of Sevare, on the
International Day of UN Peacekeepers. Last
year, 120 UN personnel were killed in
peacekeeping operations in 16 countries.
France, the former colonial power in Mali,
initially intervened in January 2013 when the
rebels seized the north of the country and
threatened to march on the capital Bamako.
In July that year, the UN force took over
responsibility for security after the main
northern towns had been recaptured.