Malian soldiers patrol the streets of the capital city of Bamako. (Documentary photo: AFP/VNA)

Unidentified armed men attacked a convoy belonging to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali on Friday, killing one civilian worker and wounding another, the mission said. The convoy was travelling from the northern city of Kidal to Gao.

Armed attacks by Islamist militants and other groups are common across vast swathes of Mali, despite a heavy presence of international troops. The UN mission MINUSMA has deployed about 13,000 troops to try to contain the violence. MINUSMA has recorded more than 250 fatalities since it started its mission in 2013.