Bamako--Troops have repelled armed insurgents in Mali, military sources said on Thursday, as calm returned following the first clash this year between government forces and the main Tuareg rebel alliance.
Fighters from the Tuareg-led Coordination for the Movements of Azawad (CMA) ambushed military positions on Wednesday in Lere, a central town near the Mauritanian border, according to army sources.
"The attack of the rebel groups in Lere has been repelled by the Malian army which is in full control of the town," a source from MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, told AFP.
"The rebels were forced to leave the southwest entrance to the city, where they were stationed."
The source said a unit of meharists -- camel-mounted soldiers -- was in control of the town.
A local councillor and resident contacted separately confirmed the information, while a Malian army source said reinforcements had arrived in the town.
"The meharists resisted, they did not give in, they pushed back the rebels. The situation is calm now," the councillor said.
A civilian source in an international team mediating peace talks between the government and the rebels said discussions were underway for "an exchange of prisoners between the two sides".
"The meharists have rebel prisoners and the rebels have wounded meharist prisoners. Direct negotiations are underway to secure their release," the source said.
A foreign security source confirmed the fighting had stopped late on Wednesday, adding there was "no winner, no loser", with the rebels controlling the south of the town and the army dug into their positions elsewhere.
Wednesday's attack came on a day of violence which started when unidentified militants opened fire on troops in the former Islamist stronghold of Goundam, 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Timbuktu, killing two soldiers and a child.
The CMA warned on Tuesday it would assert its right to "exercise legitimate self-defence" after coming under attack from a pro-government militia.
AFP
