Fighting erupts in Mali’s Timbuktu

French fighter jets continue to bomb northern regions of Mali amid clashes between the French-backed Malian troops and local fighters.

According to the Mali government, at least one Malian soldier was killed and four wounded in Sunday’s fighting in the northern city of Timbuktu, 1,000 kilometers north of the capital Bamako.

A Mali government communiqué issued on Sunday evening said that 21 local fighters were also killed during the clashes.

Mali army Captain Modibo Naman Traore said the fighting started on Saturday night after a car bombing that served to distract the military and allow a group of fighters to infiltrate Timbuktu by night.

Mali has been the scene of a deadly battle between local fighters and the French-backed Malian army since Paris launched an offensive in its former colony in January.

The French-led war in Mali has caused a serious humanitarian crisis and has displaced tens of thousands of people, many of whom reside in refugee camps in neighboring countries in deplorable conditions.

The people of northern Mali say the French war and the ruling junta are blocking the flow of humanitarian assistance to the war-affected areas.

The northern Malians say the blockade of the area by French and Malian troops has undermined the activities of healthcare workers in several refugee camps. Most of the camps have dire shortages of necessities such as food and medicine.

A UN humanitarian official said on February 27 that Mali remains in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

About “200,000 children are not getting any education and haven’t for the last year,” said John Ging, director of operations for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

France launched a war in Mali on January 11 under the pretext of halting the advance of rebel fighters in the country.