Mali attack leaves 3 U.N. peacekeepers wounded

Three U.N. peacekeepers were wounded during an attack in North Mali on Friday evening, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali said Saturday afternoon.

The U.N. troops were from Chad and reportedly exchanged fire with the gunmen. The peacekeeping battalion had been searching for suspects from a separate attack at a nearby military camp. Al-Qaeda-linked militants have remained active in the African country, despite military operations by the French to oust them last year.

The separatist Tuareg rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad are also currently at odds with the central government after ending a five-month long ceasefire in November.

On Thursday, while speaking about the operation in Mali, French President Francois Hollande said the “key objectives of the mission have been accomplished.”

Hollande also announced he would cut the number of French troops in Mali down to 1,600. Approximately 12,000 U.N. troops are currently deployed in the country.

Director of the Washington-based think tank Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, J. Peter Pham, told the Associated Press that while there are currently fewer conflicts in Africa today than in previous decades, recent violent outbreaks are a cause for concern.