20jan2015: Dutch AH-64 Apache kills 5 Tuareg rebels in Mali

[Stratofreighter]

http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/i ... 9520150120

Dutch U.N. troops carry out air strike on Mali rebels: sources

Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:23pm EST

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Dutch United Nations peacekeepers carried out an air strike on Tuareg rebel forces in northern Mali on Tuesday, the rebels and three diplomatic sources said - the first such engagement by Dutch forces serving in the U.N. mission in Mali.

A spokesman for the MNLA Tuareg separatist rebels, who are involved in peace talks with the Malian government in Algeria, said five of their fighters had been killed and several injured in the attack by at least one U.N. helicopter near the town of Tabankort.

"There was no negotiation. There was no warning," Moussa Ag Acharatoumane told Reuters. "That was an error, and bombing our positions was also a very serious political error."

The U.N. mission, which includes 380 Dutch troops and four Apache helicopter gunships from the Netherlands, said it would issue a statement on the incident later.