Mali: Army and northern tuareg rebels report dozens killed in clashes
Mali’s military and Tuareg rebels said there had been deadly clashes on Tuesday in the northern town of Bourem, in a further sign of the unravelling of a 2015 peace deal.
The rebel alliance, called the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), has been fighting the army since August, a conflict unleashed in part by the departure of a United Nations peacekeeping mission that for years had helped maintain a fragile calm.
But clashes appear to be intensifying as both sides seek to control territory in areas recently vacated by the U.N. Bourem is just 90 km (55 miles) north of the strategic city of Gao.
The general staff of the Malian armed forces said 10 combatants on its side were killed on Tuesday repelling an attack near Bourem and said 46 enemy fighters had been killed during the operation.