In Mali, a Tuareg militant leader, Cheikh Ag Aoussa has been killed in a car explosion in the city of Kidal. He had just been holding talks on the deteriorating security situation in the country with French and UN troops. A security source suggested his death was simply an accident, his car driving over a land mine.

However, a leading member of the Arab Azawad Movement -- having witnessed the explosion -- said a device had been planted in the car. Aoussa was a senior commander in the allied group Coordination of Azawad Movements, which has clashed sporadically with rival pro-government forces since a power-sharing deal, in place since February, began to crumble.