Mali rocked by renewed violence in Kidal

UN said fighting broke out on Thursday in the town of Kidal in Mali’s desert north between pro-government militia and a Tuareg-dominated rebel coalition.

A Kidal resident, Ahamadou Thegoum said they were in the mosque when they heard a few gunshots.

“The sound of gunfire was more intense than yesterday. It started u p again around 5am this morning” he said.

The violence highlights the increasingly break-down of a UN backed deal signed a year ago between the government in the southern capital Bamako and northern armed groups meant to bring to an end a long cycle of uprisings.

Mali’s peace keeping mission, MINUSMA says the fighting was a violation of the ceasefire by both rival groups which they had agreed to, as part of a deal.

Renewed violence in Northern #Mali displaced some 59,000 people in Timbuktu, Gao & Mopti http://t.co/yURDhzWJJa pic.twitter.com/TPpC1dSw3x

— IOM (@IOM_news) June 8, 2015