Malian rebels affiliated with the CMA (Coordination of Movements of Azawad), a separatist group in northern Mali, have reportedly surrounded the town of Menaka in the Gao region and seized the base previously occupied by UN peacekeepers. According to a CMA spokesman, the base was taken after the withdrawal of the UN peacekeepers from the region, asserting that no fighting happened during the seizure. However, the UN is still determining whether the reports of the base being taken by the rebels are true or not. A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali has stated that the mission is still verifying the reports.
