Two killed in bandit attack

A driver and a tour guide were killed after bandits ambushed a tourist party travelling south of Timbuktu, news organisations reported. The tourists were robbed, BBC reported officials as saying. A government vehicle travelling in a second convoy was taken by bandits on the same road after two people were shot and injured, BBC said. It quoted correspondents as saying that the attacks had raised fears among tour operators in the northeastern town of Timbuktu of a slump in trade due to a lack of security in the area. The southern Sahara region between Mali, Niger and Chad has been plagued by banditry in recent times. Some of the bandits are thought to be former rebels who fought the Mali and Niger armies until peace deals were reached in 1995. In Niger, rebellion broke out again in 1997 and ended in 1998. In northern Chad a new rebellion began in late 1998.