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Land mine kills UN peacekeeper in northern Mali

DOUALA, Cameroon (AP) — The U.N. says one peacekeeper died and six were injured after their vehicle struck a land mine in northern Mali.

The incident occurred Monday 30 kilometers west of Timbuktu, which like the rest of northern Mali fell to rebels including Islamic extremists in 2012.

A French-led intervention last year scattered the extremists, though Mali’s government has warned about their return. Tuareg separatists have also increasingly pushed back against the authority of the Bamako-based government.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the explosion. He said the peacekeepers were from Burkina Faso. Three were seriously hurt.

A suicide attack last month at a U.N. camp in the Kidal region killed four Chadian peacekeepers.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission of 11,200 military personnel and 1,440 police is not yet at full strength.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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