Bamako---Armed insurgents exchanged fire with soldiers in Mali on Wednesday, plunging peace negotiations into disarray in the first clash this year between government forces and the main Tuareg rebel alliance.
A Malian army colonel said fighters from the Tuareg-led Coordination for the Movements of Azawad (CMA) had ambushed military positions in Lere, a central town near the Mauritanian border.
"Groups of armed Tuareg rebels have been attacking us since 4:00 pm (1600 GMT). We are fighting back and defending our positions," a Malian army colonel told AFP from the town.
The CMA had warned in a statement after it came under attack from a pro-government militia on Tuesday it had "no other choice than to use its right to exercise legitimate self-defence to protect civilians, its people and its positions".
The army source said the militants had arrived in several vehicles from the west of the town.
"We are under fire. Everybody is hiding at home. The rebels are shooting, the Malian army too," a local councillor told AFP by telephone as gunshots rang out in the background.
The attacks came on a day of violence which started when unidentified militants opened fire on troops at a national guard camp in northern Mali, killing two soldiers and a child, security sources told AFP.
The gunmen struck at 5:00 am in the former Islamist stronghold of Goundam, 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the ancient desert city of Timbuktu, a Malian security source said.
The head of MINUSMA, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, had voiced concerns for the west African nation's fragile peace process ahead of the attack.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon echoed those concerns Wednesday, calling for an "immediate cessation of the hostilities in northern Mali" following "serious ceasefire violations" in recent days, according to a statement.
- Deeply divided -
On Monday, the pro-government Imghad and Allies Tuareg Self-Defence Group (GATIA) was accused of violating a ceasefire when it seized key rebel positions in the desert town of Menaka, while UN vehicles were attacked by rebels on Tuesday.
The situation was calm on Wednesday in Menaka, where GATIA fighters have occupied the town hall, a MINUSMA source said.
Separate MINUSMA sources said militants appeared to have driven from the east ahead of Wednesday's attack in Goundam, adding that they stole cars belonging to the army and the government.
Mali was upended by a coup in 2012 which opened the door for Tuareg separatists to seize the towns and cities of the vast northern desert with the help of several Islamist groups.
AFP
