Malian army repulses armed group attack in Tenenkou
Xinhua, May 6, 2015 Adjust font size:
The Malian army on Tuesday repulsed an attack by an armed group in Tenenkou, a locality situated 120 km from Mali's central town of Mopti, an official source said.
In a statement, the government said one soldier was killed and three others were injured, while 10 assailants were killed and several of them injured.
The statement did not identify the assailants, but said "armed bandits" were responsible for the attack after which "several weapons were seized by the security forces."
An eyewitness in Tenenkou told Xinhua that the town had been invaded early Tuesday morning by assailants speaking Tamasheq language (a Tuareg dialect), aboard 12 vehicles.
An upsurge of violence has been witnessed in the last few days in Mali, at a time when the government and northern Mali armed groups are preparing to sign the final peace agreement on May 15, 2015.
On Jan. 8 and 16, 2015, the same town was attacked by fighters of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa. The Malian security forces on the ground managed to repulse them. Endi