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Kamikazes in a vehicle bearing UN inscriptions wounded a Frenchman, several Estonian soldiers and two Malian civilians in the attack of an international peacekeeping base in Mali, announced Tuesday. ;French army.
The explosion of a car bomb at the base – shared between the French army, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the Malian armed forces – targeted on Monday the Entrance to the French side of the camp.
The French army spokesman, Colonel Frederic Barbry, told AFP that a "suicide vehicle" had been used during the attack.
"Two injured Estonian soldiers and one French soldier remain hospitalized," he said, adding that their living conditions did not put their lives in danger.
The Estonian Ministry of Defense has stated that five of its soldiers were wounded.
Two Malian civilians were also injured in the blast, according to the French army.
"Two people were in the suicide vehicle, which bore the colors of MINUSMA," Barbry said.
He added that an attacker, wearing a uniform resembling that of the Malian army, "was neutralized by the guards after getting out of the vehicle, armed and having made aggressive gestures". The other was killed in the blast.
A Malian security source had previously told AFP that there were at least three suicide bombers in the vehicle, who had been painted in UN vehicle colors.
The Malian authorities are struggling to improve security since the intervention of France in 2013 to repel Islamic insurgents in the north.
Large areas of the West African country remain out of government control.
About 50 Estonian soldiers provide protection and security patrols for the Gao camp, the main base of the French operation Barkhane.
A year ago, French soldiers on patrol were targeted in Gao by a car bomb attack, which left four dead and around 20 civilians injured.
About 4,000 French soldiers are deployed as part of Operation Barkhane alongside the MINUSMA peacekeeping force of about 15,000 soldiers and police.
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