BAMAKO, Mali
Two civilians were killed Tuesday when unidentified gunmen ambushed a Malian military convoy, according to a pro-government official.
Fahad Ag Almahmoud, secretary general of the self-defense organization GATIA, told Anadolu Agency the attack happened between Gossi and Gao, in northern Mali.
Army spokesman Col. Souleymane Dembele said: "This morning around 8 a.m. (0800GMT) a convoy of 45 Malian army escorting trucks carrying MINUSMA equipment was attacked by armed men between Gossi and Gao."
Local sources said seven trucks were destroyed and several injured, without giving details on the number of casualties or whether they were civilians, soldiers or insurgents.
Earlier this month, six UN peacekeeping soldiers were killed in Mali's northern city of Timbuktu.
Violence broke out in the north of the country in 2012 following a failed coup attempt and a Tuareg rebellion that allowed al-Qaeda-linked militants to take over the northern half of the country.
In early 2013, former colonial power France sent troops and, with the help of Chadian and other African forces, flushed Islamist militants from Mali's main northern cities.
In May, the government and several rebel groups signed a peace deal.
