More banditry reported in the north

Bandits in Tin-Sako, northern Mali, killed one soldier, wounded two and captured four others on Sunday as they escorted health workers in a door-to-door vaccination campaign in the Kidal Region, Lt-Col Abdoulaye Coulibaly told IRIN.

“This is regrettable because the armed forces are taking part in the humanitarian mission across the country,” he said on Tuesday.

Coulibaly, who is head of military information, said two other soldiers were missing and that the army was in hot pursuit of the raiders whose strength was unknown.

The attack came two weeks after an army sweep across the region to clear the northern territories of marauders who often attack locals and aid workers, stealing their vehicles. AFP identified the head of the bandit group as Ibrahim Bahanga, a Tuareg army deserter. The agency said he joined the Malian army in 1996 when the Tuareg and the government in Bamako signed a peace deal.

That agreement marked the end of a rebellion the Tuareg began in the early 1990s, but some of the former rebels are suspected of being involved in banditry.

However, Coulibaly said he could not identify the leader of the bandit group that carried out the raid until he received further information from army field units.