Mali base attack toll hits 32

2008-05-23 15:20

Bamako - Fighting during an insurgent attack on an army base in Mali's restive south killed 15 soldiers and 17 rebels, the Defence Ministry said on Friday, raising its count of the death toll from 27.

A group of armed men battled soldiers stationed at a military encampment in the far northern town of Abeibara on Wednesday before being pushed back, according to an earlier ministry statement.

Ethnic Tuareg rebels active in the area claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack but said in a statement that only one of their fighters had died in the eight hours of fighting and that they had captured about 60 soldiers, along with weapons and several army vehicles.

Two Malian military officials who agreed to speak only if their names were not used confirmed that soldiers had been captured, but gave no other details.

31 people injured

They requested anonymity because they were not authorised to give information beyond the official statement.

Another military official said the fighting started before dawn on Wednesday after about 10 vehicles full of armed men charged the camp. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not an authorised spokesperson.

The government statement said 31 others were injured in the fighting in Abeibara, a town about 130km north of Kidal.

The ethnic Tuareg rebels signed a cease-fire with Mali's government on April 03, but Wednesday's fighting and a deadly attack on a military convoy earlier this month suggested that the truce was unravelling.

Mali had struggled to broker a long-lasting peace with the Tuaregs. Several cease-fires had failed to stop the violence, as splinter groups continued fighting to press their demands for more help for the Tuareg minority.

- AP