BAMAKO (Reuters) - Five gendarmes were killed and four were injured when a convoy they were escorting to an Australian-owned gold mine in southern Mali came under attack by militants, the army said. Armed attacks by Islamist militants and other groups are common across vast swathes of Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger, despite a heavy presence of international troops. "We only have limited details at this early stage but we can confirm the convoy was transporting a supplier's equipment to Morila," Managing Director Michael Anderson said in an email. Earlier this month they ambushed convoys in Burkina Faso linked to Endeavor Mining and Iamgold Corp.At least 37 people were killed when gunmen in Burkina Faso ambushed a convoy from Canadian miner Semafo in 2019. (Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo, Helen Reid and David Lewis; Writing by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: The Star September 29, 2021 12:22 UTC