Soldiers Kill Three in Clash with 'Bandits' in Mali

At least two Malian soldiers were wounded as the army exchanged fire with "bandits", killing three during security operations near the Mauritanian border, security sources said on Thursday.

Troops had been on patrol around the market town of Lere as part of week-long security operations across the country, when they encountered the gunmen on Wednesday, the army and defense ministry told Agence France Presse.

"There was an exchange of gunfire. Two of our soldiers were very slightly injured and we arrested a dozen armed bandits," said army spokesman Souleymane Maiga, adding that the operation would continue until the end of the week.

The ministry of defense said three soldiers were hurt while three of the gunmen were killed.

Northern Mali was occupied by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and then armed Islamist factions who imposed a brutal interpretation of sharia law before the region was liberated by a French-led military intervention launched in January.

But Maiga rejected media reports that the fighters in Lere were from the MNLA, an ethnic Tuareg movement which has agreed to be confined to camps as part of a peace deal signed with the government.

"We were not faced with MNLA fighters, we were confronted by armed bandits who were preventing people going about their daily lives," he said.

Maiga said army patrols had been ordered to protect local populations after reports of cattle-rustling and armed groups setting up roadblocks.

"We recorded three (soldiers) wounded - it's not too serious," said defense ministry spokesman Diarran Kone, adding that "from the bandits side... we killed three", while many others had fled.

An African military source confirmed the clash but said he was unable to identify the gunmen.

"But since the Malian army has taken prisoners, we should know soon enough," he added.

The MNLA and the authorities in Bamako reached a deal in June that allowed Malian troops to enter the rebel bastion of Kidal ahead of a nationwide presidential election eventually won by former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The agreement allows for the release of fighters detained during a Tuareg uprising last year and provides for talks on autonomy for a large part of northern Mali to start between Tuareg rebels and the new administration within the next two months.

Tuareg leaders have warned that the MNLA would not hesitate to take up arms again if Keita fails to reach a negotiated solution.