BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Gunmen in three cars attacked a town in Mali’s north on Wednesday, killing three people, including the head of the national guard, a resident and an official said.
The gunmen entered the town of Goundam, 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Timbuktu, and started shooting, the resident said.
“They exchanged fire with the guards. The head of the guards and his deputy died in the shooting. A third person close to the chief also died,” said the resident who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
An official with Mali’s government confirmed the attack, saying that the third person killed was a girl. “We don’t know exactly who launched the attack,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press.
Violence began in Mali’s north on Monday when a militia allied with the government took over a town with Tuareg rebels there, taking 12 people prisoner. Fighting continued outside the town of Menaka Tuesday, and armed separatist fighters fired upon U.N. peacekeeping vehicles near Timbuktu the same day.
Experts fear this renewed violence could upset a peace accord that the rebels and government are meant to sign on May 15 to end years of fighting.
The head of the United Nations mission in Mali, Mongi Hamdi, called on all parties to “remain in their positions during negotiations and to refrain from all acts, direct and indirect, that could compromise prospects for peace.”
Algeria has mediated several rounds of peace talks between the Malian government and various Tuareg groups that have sought greater autonomy for the country’s northern region, which they call Azawad.
Tuareg rebel groups seized control of northern Mali in early 2012 but then al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremist militants won control shortly afterward. Troops from former colonizer France later led a military offensive to dislodge the extremists. The U.N. peacekeeping mission later followed and has come under growing attack in recent months.