Kidal

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  Suspected Islamist Terrorist Attack Mali UN Base, Several Dead

  Suspected Islamist terrorist attacked a UN peacekeepers' base in the northern Mali town of Kidal today, killing several people and wounding others, a spokesman for the separatist Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) told Reuters.

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  Mali Rebels Begin Talks to Mull Peace Deal

  Mali's Tuareg-led rebels met today in the northeast of the country to decide whether to sign a peace deal already accepted by the government and smaller armed groups, a participant told AFP.

• 'Around 50 Soldiers Killed in Recent Fighting in Mali's North'

  Malian Defence Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga has said around 50 soldiers had been killed during recent fighting with armed rebels in the northern desert town of Kidal.

• Malian Army Flees Kidal Amid Rebel Fighting

  Malian soldiers retreated from the northern town of Kidal on Wednesday after heavy gunbattles with ethnic Tuareg separatists, a major setback for the army less than a year after its highly unpopular return to the rebel stronghold.

• Mali Sends 1,500 Troops to Retake Rebel Stronghold

  Mali has sent 1,500 troops to retake the rebel stronghold of Kidal, military sources said on Monday, after Tuareg separatists laid siege to local government offices, sparking a gun battle in which dozens of people were killed.

• Mali 'At War With Terrorists' After Dozens Die in Clashes: PM

  Mali's Prime Minister Moussa Mara warned Sunday the country was "at war" with terrorists in the northern city of Kidal, after clashes between separatist militants and the army left dozens dead.

• Mali: Tuareg Rebels Take 30 Hostages in North

  Mali officials say separatist rebels killed eight soldiers, stormed a government building and took 30 people hostage in an assault on the northern city of Kidal.

• Five injured as UN vehicle in Mali hits landmine

  Five members of the UN mission in Mali were injured on Monday when their vehicle ran over a landmine planted in the northeastern rebel bastion of Kidal, the stabilisation mission said.

• Al Qaeda takes responsibility for reporters' death

  Al Qaeda's branch in North Africa claimed responsibility Wednesday for the slaying of two French radio journalists, who were kidnapped and killed over the weekend in the northern Malian town of Kidal, according to a statement posted on a portal frequently used by jihadists.

• Two French journalists kidnapped in northern Mali: sources

  Two journalists with Radio France Internationale (RFI) were kidnapped on Saturday by armed men while working in Kidal in Mali's far northeast, military and security sources said.

• Mali suicide bomber killed in accidental fireball: official

  A suicide bomber was killed instantly when he accidentally detonated his explosives belt in the Malian rebel bastion of Kidal on Sunday, without killing or wounding anyone else, a local government official told AFP.

• More suicide bombs hit Mali

  Five people, including two suicide bombers, died on Friday in car bombings in northern Mali, a day after fierce urban battles between French-led forces and Islamists left up to 20 extremists dead, officials said.

• French troops enter last Islamist stronghold in Mali

  France called for peace talks between Mali's government and "legitimate representatives" from the north, after French troops took up positions at Kidal, the last city held by Islamist forces.

• French enter last main Islamist-held town in northern Mali

  French troops on Wednesday entered Kidal, the last Islamist bastion in Mali's north to be recaptured in a whirlwind Paris-led offensive amid reports the radicals have regrouped in remote hills near Algeria.

• French troops control key airport in north Mali

  French forces have taken control of the airport in Kidal, seizing a key position in one of three provincial capitals the Islamist militants took over last year, officials said on Wednesday. One Malian official said French troops even moved into the city, which was the last remaining urban stronghold of the Islamists in Mali.