Three killed in attack on UN base in northern Mali

Unidentified gunmen hit UN peacekeeper base with mortar
fire in the northern town of Kidal, also wounding 20.

Gunmen attacked and fired rockets at a UN peacekeeping
base in Kidal in northern Mali on Saturday, killing two
soldiers and a civilian, the UN force said.
Olivier Salgado, spokesman for the UN's deployment in
Mali known as MINUSMA, told Al Jazeera the attack was
launched before dawn with five rockets landing inside the
UN compound.
Salgado said 20 other people were wounded, four
seriously.
"In the past we've had mortar shells land outside, but this
time they made it into the camp," said Salgado.
The Special Representative of the UN secretary-general for
Mali and head of its mission, Mongi Hamdi, condemned the
attack.
“I want to reiterate that these attacks will not impede the
determination of the United Nations to support the Malian
people and the peace process, including through assisting
the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and
Reconciliation in Mali”, Hamdi said in a statement.
French troops and the UN force are struggling to stabilize
the former French colony where armed assailants attacked
a hotel in the capital on November 20 and killed 20 people.