Policeman Killed by Suspected Jihadists in Southern Mali

Suspected jihadists killed a policeman in a rare attack in southern Mali on Wednesday, hoisting their black flag at the local military base, government and security sources told AFP.

A minister said the "cowardly terrorists" killed the warrant officer in Misseni, near the border with Ivory Coast, while a local councilor said "around 30 jihadists" had briefly occupied the town's army camp.

The councilor said the militants arrived at 2:00 am (0200 GMT), adding: "I heard gunshots in the Misseni military camp. The jihadists were shouting 'Allahu Akbar (God is greatest).'

"They took control of the military camp where they put up their black flag."

The militants opened fire on the Misseni police, killing the officer before escaping, the source added.

A Malian security source confirmed the policeman's death, adding that "the terrorist jihadists led an organized attack".

"Some say they came from Burkina Faso but they probably came from Ivory Coast because Misseni is 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Ivorian border," the source added.

"They covered part of the distance in a vehicle, and another part on motorcycles and on foot."

A source at the Misseni police headquarters said the officer was "shot dead" while two Malian army vehicles and police motorcycles were set alight.

A local military source told AFP the army was sending back-up from Sikasso, the regional capital.

Divided among rival armed factions, plagued by drug trafficking and infiltrated by jihadist groups, Mali's desert north has struggled to maintain stability since the west African nation gained independence in 1960.

The country descended into chaos in 2012 when an insurgency by Tuareg rebels led to a coup in the capital Bamako. Jihadists linked to Al-Qaida then overpowered the Tuareg to seize control of the north.

A French-led military operation launched in January 2013 drove the extremists out of the region's towns and cities.

But the country remains deeply divided, with the Tuareg and Arab populations of the north accusing sub-Saharan ethnic groups in the more prosperous south of marginalizing them.

Tuareg rebels and Islamist militants remain active throughout the north, a vast area the size of France, but attacks outside of the region are rare.

Al-Murabitoun, an Islamist militia led by notorious Algerian jihadist commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, claimed responsibility for the first attack against Westerners in Bamako on March 7.

Three Malians, a French national and a Belgian were killed as militants stormed a nightclub that was popular with the capital's expatriate community.

The group also carried out a suicide attack on April 15 against the Nigerian contingent of the U.N. mission in Mali, killing two civilians.

Hopes for peace in Mali were boosted on Friday last week when the main Tuareg-led rebel movement announced it would sign an agreement to end the conflict in the west African nation on June 20.

The Coordination of Azawad Movements initialed the deal alongside the Malian government in May but was holding out on a final deal until guarantees were made about the representation of northern populations in any future security force.

Mali's jihadist groups have been sidelined during the peace process however, and were not involved in U.N.-brokered talks to formulate the accord.