Mali's Prime Minister Moussa Mara said today the country was "at war" with terrorists in the northern city of Kidal after clashes between separatist militants and the Malian army left 36 dead.
Eight soldiers and 28 insurgents were killed in fighting yesterday outside the regional governor's offices during a visit by Mara to the desert town, the government said, adding that around 30 civil servants were being held hostage.
"The terrorists have declared war on Mali, so Mali is at war against these terrorists. We will mobilise the resources to fight this war," Mara told AFP by telephone.
Kidal, 1,500 kilometres northeast of the capital Bamako, was the scene of anti-government protests by several hundred people on Friday and yesterday who demonstrated at the regional airport against the visit.
Mara's predecessor Oumar Tatam Ly was forced to cancel a trip in November to Kidal -- the stronghold of Mali's Tuareg separatist movement -- after protesters occupied a runway at the airport.
"When someone attacks the republic, he is a terrorist, whatever his origin, or allegiance to a territory. We will take a war without mercy to these terrorists," Mara added.
"Our forces are motivated. We will provide them with what they need to win total victory."
Mara is on his first tour of the north since his appointment in April.
He visited the desert caravan town of Timbuktu on Friday, Kidal yesterday and arrived today in Gao, northern Mali's largest city.
Security is being provided by the United Nations' MINUSMA peacekeeping force and soldiers from Operation Serval, the French-led military mission against Islamist militants in northern Mali.
It was not immediately clear if the French troops had been involved in events in Kidal over the weekend.
"The prime minister left Kidal this morning with his delegation by helicopter... It is calm at the moment," a MINUSMA official told AFP.
The force said in a statement yesterday it "strongly condemns these acts of violence".
"Such developments are counterproductive and contrary to the will of the people of Mali, who aspire to peace and lasting stability," the statement added.
MINUSMA said yesterday 19 of its police and seven protesters had been wounded in clashes at the airport since the demonstrations began, though none seriously.
