Mali: Rebels capture soldiers after fighting in north

Separatist rebels in northern Mali said they are holding 19 soldiers from the national army following recent fighting, further aggravating tensions in the region after nearly a month of heightened violence.

“We captured 19 Malian soldiers during fighting last Friday. In the same fighting, we recorded one injury on our side,” said Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, a spokesman for the Coordination of Azawad Movements, a separatist coalition.

The clash occurred in the town of <g data-gr-id="17">Tessit</g>, in the northern Gao region.

Supporters of the mostly Tuareg rebels used Facebook and Twitter to distribute photos of men in Malian army uniforms who were purported to be the captured soldiers. This could not be independently verified.

A Malian defense official confirmed today that some soldiers were in rebel custody but would not say how many.

“The terrorists are holding our soldiers, but I don’t want to enter into a war of numbers so I don’t want to tell you the number of soldiers,” said the official, Col. <g data-gr-id="23">Diarran</g> Kone, an adviser with Mali’s defense ministry.