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Tuareg rebels raid Mali barracks Tuareg rebels raid Mali army base
(about 2 hours later)
Tuareg rebels have attacked a military base in northern Mali, killing at least 14 people and taking several hostages. At least 20 people have been killed and several taken hostage in an attack by Tuareg rebels on a military base in northern Mali, officials have said.
Military sources said at least 20 vehicles carrying rebels arrived at the base 400km (250 miles) northeast of the capital Bamako shortly before dawn. The Malian defence ministry said the raid occurred shortly before dawn in the town of Nampala, 500km (310 miles) north-east of the capital, Bamako.
The attack is the first major clash since the rebels, who are demanding greater autonomy, signed a peace deal with the government in July. The dead included nine security troops and 11 attackers, it added. The rebels say they killed more than 20 soldiers.
Last week, Mali's president reiterated his call for further peace talks. It was the first major clash since a peace deal was signed in July.
Amadou Toumani Toure called on the rebels to lay down their arms, saying that "those who want war can go elsewhere". Last week, Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure called on the rebels to lay down their arms, saying that "those who want war can go elsewhere".
But the BBC's West Africa correspondent Will Ross says the attack shows that yet another attempt to make peace in northern Mali has failed. "I have been trained to make war, but I prefer peace," the former army general said during a visit to northern Mali last Sunday.
'Carnage' But the BBC's West Africa correspondent Will Ross says the attack shows that yet another attempt to make peace in Mali has failed.
A military source described the scene at the base as "carnage". 'Upper hand'
"There are 14 soldiers killed including the chief of the post, 15 others injured, and it appears that hostages were taken," he said. Military sources said a rebel column of more than 20 vehicles had raided the base in Nampala early on Saturday and left behind a scene of "carnage". Several hostages were also taken, the sources said.
The source said they believed rebel chief Ibrahim Ag Bahanga was behind the attack. No-one can divide Mali Amadou Toumani ToureMalian president
Mr Bahanga had not signed up to the peace deal and decided to fight on, says our correspondent. The defence ministry identified the attackers as "an armed gang linked to drug traffickers", a description it often uses to describe Tuareg rebel groups.
A source close to Mr Bahanga said the rebels had "gained the upper hand in the attack" and claimed to have killed "more than 20" soldiers. The North Mali Tuareg Alliance for Change (ATNMC), which did not sign the peace deal in July, has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its website.
"We regret that, but it was them or us. We have wounded on our side," the unnamed source told AFP. A source close to the group's leader, Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, said its fighters had gained the upper hand in the attack" and killed "more than 20" soldiers.
The Tuareg are an historically nomadic people living in the Sahara and Sahel regions of North Africa. "We regret that, but it was them or us. We have wounded on our side," the unnamed source told the AFP news agency.
Tuareg militants in Mali and Niger have been engaged in sporadic armed struggles for several decades. An ATNMC spokesman, Hama Ag Sid'Ahmed, said the attack was intended to force the government into dialogue.
The Malian military has accused them of involvement in drug-smuggling. "So that we can move beyond the current impasse which has lasted for the past three years, we want the Malian authorities... [to reinitiate] a real dialogue," he said in a statement.
President Toure called for calm and national unity following the incident.
"No-one can divide Mali," he said.
The Tuaregs, a historically nomadic people living in the Sahara and Sahel regions of North Africa, want more resources to be spent in their homeland and greater autonomy.
Tuareg militant groups in Mali and Niger have been engaged in sporadic armed struggles seeking these goals for several decades.