Mali armed groups clash near Timbuktu

Malian rebels fought pro-government militia in the northern village of Kano overnight, three security sources said, firing rockets and briefly kidnapping at least 20 people in the latest spike of violence between armed groups. Two years after a French military intervention to drive out al Qaeda-linked Islamists from the desert north, sporadic attacks carried out by a medley of armed groups continue.
Tit-for-tat fighting between pro-government militia and Tuareg-led groups seeking greater freedom for a region they called Azawad has intensified in recent weeks. At least nine people, mostly rebels, were killed this week in a suicide attack near the town of Tabankort.