Violence flares up as Malians vote in key election

Malians today voted in a crucial presidential election as attacks disrupted polling in areas already beset by deadly ethnic and jihadist violence.

Despite the deployment of 30,000 security personnel throughout the country, several incidents were reported in the north and centre.

Rockets were fired on the UN mission (MINUSMA) camp in Aguelhok, in the northeast, according to a UN security source who added that "there are no casualties and the rockets did not fall into the camp." Elsewhere, unidentified gunmen burned polling stations and ballot boxes.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, 73, leads a crowded field of 24 candidates -- including just woman -- bidding for re-election to the post he has held since 2013. He voted in Sebenicoro, near the capital Bamako, surrounded by journalists and supporters.

Keita's record on security has been a dominant theme, with opponents, including several former ministers, accusing him of incompetence.

The international community hopes the poll will strengthen a 2015 accord that Mali, a linchpin state in the troubled Sahel region, sees as the cornerstone for peace.

On the campaign trail, Keita -- commonly known by his initials IBK -- highlighted the achievements of the peace agreement between the government, government-allied groups and former Tuareg rebels to fight jihadist fighters in the country's north.

Voting could not take place in the village of Lafia, in the northern Timbuktu region, after the ballot boxes were set on fire, according to local authorities.

"Overnight Saturday, armed men arrived at the town hall where the ballot boxes and electoral material were held," a local official told AFP.

The source added the boxes were burned after "jihadists" fired shots into the sky. "One of them said 'God does not like elections'."
Casting her ballot in Niafunke, Oumou Diarra, a young woman voting for the first time, told AFP: "It is very important to vote. I have just voted for change."