Gunmen kill seven UN peacekeepers in Mali

At least seven people were killed and seven others injured as unidentified gunmen attacked the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping force in the northern Mali city of Timbuktu on Monday.

Earlier Monday, gunmen attacked two neighbouring UN camps in Douentza in the Mopti region of central Mali, killing a Malian soldier and a UN peacekeeper and lightly wounding another peacekeeper. 

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, also called that incident a terrorist attack, reports AP.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali is the deadliest of the UN's 16 global peacekeeping operations. 

The death of the soldier in Douentza brought the number of UN peacekeepers killed in attacks this year to nine, according to the UN peacekeeping department. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack and stressed that attacks targeting UN peacekeepers "may constitute war crimes under international law," UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said. 

Guterres commends "the important efforts" that Mali and four neighbouring countries are making to combat terrorism and violent extremism and promote peace in the region, Haq added.