Gunmen attack UN police base, army checkpoint in Mali

Unidentified gunmen reportedly attacked a United Nations police base and an army checkpoint in two different parts of northern Mali on Friday.

The attackers detonated their car bomb at the entrance of the UN camp in Timbuktu at around 6:30 a.m., Reuters quoted Olivier Salgado, the spokesman for MINUSMA — the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali — as saying.

"An unknown number of assailants have withdrawn inside the camp. An operation is currently under way with Malian and MINUSMA forces," Salgado said.Some police officers were evacuated after they sustained injuries in the attack, he added.

A Nigerian contingent was staying at the UN police base, Reuters quoted a source as saying. However, there were not many officials at the base when it was attacked.

At the same time, some gunmen opened fire at an army checkpoint in the Kabara neighbourhood near the airport. No casualty has been reported from the site yet.