Three Ivorian UN peacekeepers killed in Mali attack

Three UN peacekeepers from Ivory Coast were killed in central Mali on Wednesday, the UN and Ivorian government said, in the latest violence to hit the war-torn Sahel state.

Peacekeepers travelling the road linking the central town of Douentza to the city of Timbuktu further north hit a roadside bomb, according to a statement from the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission.

Gunmen then opened fire on the convoy, the statement added, confirming three dead.

“The robust response of the peacekeepers drove the cowardly assailants to flee,” the MINUSMA statement said.