BAMAKO-- A Tuareg-dominated rebel coalition said on Saturday it was holding 19 Malian government soldiers as prisoners captured in clashes a day earlier amid growing violence in the north that threatens to derail
U.N.-brokered peace efforts.
Army sources confirmed that soldiers were missing after the Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) briefly seized the small town of Tessit, in Mali's northern Gao region.
A spokesman for the CMA said its fighters had withdrawn from Tessit by Saturday morning, taking with them captured weapons, ammunition and the prisoners.
Photos from a CMA fighter present in Tessit seen by Reuters showed at least a dozen men, most in civilian clothing, with their hands tied behind their backs and surrounded by rebel fighters.
It was not immediately possible to independently authenticate the images or identify the captives.
REUTERS
