Protesters demonstrating against foreign troops in Mali ransacked a dozen UN supply containers on Saturday looting electrical equipment, air conditioners and mattresses, the UN and witnesses said.

Around 1,000 people had been protesting outside the local airport and a military camp housing the UN peacekeeping force, known as MINUSMA, in Sevare, near the central city of Mopti.

Protesters set fire to tires on Saturday before ransacking UN containers outside the camp.

"The protesters stole logistical and construction equipment," the UN mission said. "Camp security was not impacted, but these acts of vandalism are totally unacceptable."

The fragile Sahel country hosts France's military mission in the Sahel and UN peacekeeping troops as well as contingents from a five-nation anti-jihadist group.

Northern Mali fell into the hands of jihadists in 2012 before the militants were forced out by a French-led military intervention.

But much of the region remains unstable and jihadist-led violence has spread to the centre of the country, often sparking ethnic tensions.

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Mali's main jihadist group claims deadly army base attacks: media
Nouakchott (AFP) Oct 9, 2019
Mali's main Islamist militant alliance has claimed responsibility for attacks two weeks ago on army bases that killed at least 40 troops in of one of the deadliest strikes on the country's armed forces, Mauritania's Al-Akhbar news agency reported Wednesday. The Al-Qaeda-allied Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) said it carried out the attacks in Boulkessy and Mondoro in central Mali near the Burkina Faso border, according to the agency, which regularly receives jihadist statements. Mali's ... read more