Six UN Peacekeepers Wounded by Roadside Bomb in North Mali

At least six United Nations peacekeepers were wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in northern Mali on Sunday, the UN mission in Mali said.

Northern Mali remains highly volatile two years after France led a U.N.-backed intervention to drive al Qaeda-linked militants from towns they seized in 2012.

Militants have since mounted a comeback targeting the Malian army and U.N. troops deployed there. Peace talks have failed to deliver improvements on the ground.

The vehicle transporting troops of the Niger contingent, part of the U.N. mission in Mali known as MINUSMA, was travelling on the road between Asongo and Menaka in the Gao region.

The soldiers who were wounded, three seriously, will be evacuated to the city of Gao for appropriate treatment, the U.N. mission said in the statement.

The mayor of a town in northern Mali died on Saturday from wounds sustained in an ambush that killed his son.