3 killed in rocket attack on UN base in Mali

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UN peacekeeping base attacked in Mali - © Tanya Bindra, EPA
A rocket attack on a UN peacekeepers' base in northern Mali killed three people early Saturday, United Nations mission spokesman Olivier Salgado said.
The victims in Kidal included two United Nations peacekeepers and one civilian contractor, the UN in New York said later, reports dpa.
Twenty peacekeepers and civilian personnel were wounded, including four seriously.
No group immediately claimed the attack, which was condemned by the UN mission and the Malian government.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was "outraged" by the attack and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, according a statement from a spokesman at UN headquarters in New York.
The dead were from Burkina Faso and Guinea, the UN said.
Ban said that such "asymmetric attacks against the mission will not impede the determination of the United Nations to support the Malian government, the signatory parties to the peace agreement and the people of Mali in their efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability," the New York spokesman said.
An attack on a hotel on November 20 in Bamako, claimed by two Islamist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda, left about 20 people dead.
Islamist violence has been persistent Mali's north, which has been volatile since separatist rebels - and later al-Qaeda-affiliated militants - took control of the region after a 2012 military coup.

French and African military operations dispersed the militants and restored government control over the area. Clashes between rebels and the army persist in some regions.

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