3 civilians killed, several injured during protests in northeastern Mali

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - Three civilians were killed and three people injured during demonstrations in northern Mali against two politico-armed movements, the United Nations Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said Monday.

Demonstrations Saturday in the town of Menaka against the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad - Dawsahak (MSA-D) and the Imghad and Allied Tuareg Self-Defense Group (GATIA) "degenerated into violence, leaving three people dead and others injured, including a baby," the mission said.

A peacekeeper was injured when a UN patrol and elements of the Malian Armed Forces went to the scene to restore calm and protect civilians, including at an internally displaced person camp.

"Some individuals among the demonstrators threw stones at the peacekeepers' vehicles, injuring one soldier and damaging three vehicles,” according to a UN statement, adding that peacekeepers and Malian troops continued their mission in a “calm and restrained manner,"

The injured child is in a coma after being shot when his mother was carrying him on her back, Nanout Koita, the mayor of Menaka, told Anadolu Agency.

In the West African country, the MSA-D and the GATIA, two former rebel movements, are members of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), an alliance of rebel groups. They are signatories to a 2015 peace agreement meant to restore peace to the country.