French, Benin soldiers injured following attack by MNLA in Kidal

A French soldier was injured on Sunday when he was stabbed on the thigh by the combatants of the touareg rebel movement, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a medical source said. The French soldier was stabbed in front of the Malian army barracks in Kidal, a town in northern Mali. The MNLA combatants who were dressed in civilian cloths, "not only displayed their flags along the wall that surrounds camp 1, but some among them climbed on top of the military camp's wall," a security source in Kidal said. "It was while trying to put their flag at the camp's gate that a French soldier was attacked and stabbed with a knife. The French soldier who was deployed to secure the gate was overwhelmed by the combatants who were singing hostile songs against Mali and its army," the same source added. Also on Saturday, members of MNLA attacked the positions of Benin's contingent under the auspices of the United Nations Integrated Multidimensional Mission for Stabilization of Mali (MINUSMA), injuring one Benin soldier. "The situation is highly tensed and there's palpable tension between the separatist forces and the UN, Malian and French forces. The risk of things getting out of control cannot be ruled out if MNLA continues with its provocative acts," a Malian security officer said.