Mali: Ten UN peacekeepers killed in ‘jihadist’ attack

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Ten UN peacekeepers from Chad have been killed in an attack by suspected Islamist militants in northern Mali, the UN says.

Another 25 Chadian troops were injured when the gunmen stormed the UN camp in Aguelhok early on Sunday. The attack was repelled, the UN says.

The UN mission in Mali was set up in 2013 to fight Islamist militias operating in the country.

Militants have regularly attacked UN and Malian troops since then.

Al-Qaeda’s North-African branch, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, said it carried out the latest attack, local media report.

Large swathes of northern Mali were seized by jihadists in 2012 until they were pushed back in a French-led military operation the following year.

More than 15,000 personnel – including civilians – were later deployed as part of the UN mission, Minusma.

But parts of the country are still out of the government’s control.

Mali: Ten UN peacekeepers killed in ‘jihadist’ attack