Northern Mali hit by gunfire, suicide bomb attack

The situation in northern Mali has deteriorated in recent days with fighting reported between the separatist Tuareg group MNLA and the army in Kidal one day after a suicide bomb attack hit another town of Timbuktu. Local authorities on Sunday reported the exchange of fire in the central part of Kidal, which used to be the stronghold of the MNLA, but lately controlled by the Malian army. The gunfire injured several people on both sides. Sources at the army camp positioned in Kidal said they were being attacked for the first time in town since the MNLA moved out for disarmament under a truce signed three months ago. The shootout was triggered after a group of armed individuals in a vehicle refused to comply with the army's order to stop in Kidal. "At around 6:00 p.m. (local time), a vehicle refused to stop after being waved down by the soldiers who were stationed near the Solidarity Bank of Mali. After refusing to stop, a man in the vehicle shot at the Malian army officer who also retaliated," a witness told Xinhua. "There were reinforcements that came to help the armed men as well as some army officers also came to assist their colleagues. A shootout ensued for a good five minutes," the source said, noting that the first individual to fire at the officer was badly injured. Soldiers from the UN Integrated Mission for Stabilization of Mali (MINUSMA) and the French Operation Serval were soon deployed on the ground to stop the fight. "The situation is calm now. Other Malian reinforcements came from the neighboring town of Anefi," he disclosed, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity in the conflict. Last Friday, unknown individuals threw two grenades at security guards at the same bank, wounding several people. The fighting marked the breach of a truce signed by the MNLA with the government on June 18 in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, which has brokered several peace deals in the West African region since 2008. The agreement stipulated that inter-Mali inclusive talks to achieve lasting peace should be held at least 60 days after the election of a new president. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who won Mali's presidential election in the second round held on Aug. 11, has declared that he would not wait for 60 days to begin addressing the crisis in the northern part of the country. The clash came also as a setback in last week's efforts to end tensions between the army and the MNLA, which has been reluctant to see the comeback of soldiers since signing the ceasefire. Skirmishes had been previously reported between the two sides before the army entered the town. The MNLA occupied Kidal in the aftermath of the military coup on March 22, 2012. The resumption of hostilities adds to concerns caused by a suicide bomb attack in another northern town of Timbuktu on Saturday. At least two civilians were reported dead and four soldiers injured in the attack. The heritage town of Timbuktu fell to Al-Qaida linked rebels after the coup. The rebels were routed out in January by the army with the military support of Mali's former colonial power France and allied African countries. Mali's Minister of Interior Security Sada Samake on Sunday went to Timbuktu on a mission to assess the situation and enhance security, promising quick reinforcement including military equipment.