Up to 20 dead as northern Mali fighting threatens peace deal
Source: Reuters
Up to 20 people were killed and at least 40 others wounded, according to health workers, in two days of fighting in northern Mali between Tuareg rebels and pro-government militia threatening a shaky year-old peace deal.
The Tuareg-dominated Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and rival Gatia militia fighters, who had peacefully shared control of the town of Kidal since February, clashed for a second day on Friday before pro-government fighters withdrew.
Both groups signed a United Nations-backed deal a year ago with the government in Bamako, the capital in southern Mali, that was meant to end a decades-long cycle of uprisings and let the army focus on defeating jihadist groups in the desert north.
A nurse at the main health center in Kidal, one of the largest towns in northern Mali, said she had seen about 20 dead, both at the clinic and on the town's streets.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-violence-idUSKCN1020VF
