A military camp sheltering UN, French and Malian forces was shelled several times this Tuesday, July 7, in northeast Mali. This region is plagued by violence and jihadism. The projectiles, 16 according to preliminary information, fell outside the Tessalit camp in the Kidal region near the Algerian border, and did not cause any injuries or damage, said the spokesman for the UN mission (Minusma), Olivier Salgado.
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On Monday, a Minusma vehicle in convoy struck a mine in Kidal. Three peacekeepers were injured, including one seriously, according to the UN mission. A mortar attack on Tessalit camp left 18 wounded among peacekeepers and two among civilians in January. The Tessalit camp is home to forces from Minusma, the French anti-Jihadist operation Barkhane and Malian soldiers.
Kidal, 1,500 km northeast of Bamako, is a Tuareg stronghold. It is from the north of Mali that a rebellion of independentists, Salafists and jihadists started in 2012 which marks the beginning of the current conflict. The independence rebels have since signed a peace agreement. But jihadist activities have spread to the center of the country and to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. The conflict has left thousands of people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.