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| Mali army 'fire on Islamists' in response to incursion | Mali army 'fire on Islamists' in response to incursion |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Malian soldiers have fired on Islamist fighters in the centre of the country, military sources say. | Malian soldiers have fired on Islamist fighters in the centre of the country, military sources say. |
| It the first significant fighting reported between the two sides since Islamist and Tuareg rebels seized control of the north of the country last April. | It the first significant fighting reported between the two sides since Islamist and Tuareg rebels seized control of the north of the country last April. |
| The Islamists had reportedly tried to make an advance into the government-controlled south. | The Islamists had reportedly tried to make an advance into the government-controlled south. |
| It is not clear whether there were any casualties. | It is not clear whether there were any casualties. |
| The army used artillery against the Islamist fighters in the village of Gnimignama, 30km (19 miles) from army positions, according to army sources. | |
| Representatives of the Malian government and Islamist and Tuareg rebels are due to hold talks in neighbouring Burkina Faso on 10 January. | Representatives of the Malian government and Islamist and Tuareg rebels are due to hold talks in neighbouring Burkina Faso on 10 January. |
| The rebels seized power in the the north in the chaos following an army coup in March. | |
| The alliance between the Islamists and Tuaregs quickly collapsed, with the Islamists taking the region's main urban centres. | |
| The Islamist groups have since destroyed ancient shrines in Timbuktu and imposed a brutal version of Islamic law, sparking international outrage. | |
| Last month the UN Security Council gave its backing for an African-led military operation to help Mali's government retake the north if no peaceful solution could be found in the coming months. | |
| Regional bloc Ecowas says it has 3,300 troops ready to go to Mali - although an operation is not expected to begin before September 2013. | |
| A day after the UN resolution, the Islamist Ansar Dine group and the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), a Tuareg separatist group, said they were committed to finding a negotiated solution. |