Armed men kill 6 Malian soldiers in an overnight attack

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At least six Malian soldiers were killed and several wounded in an overnight attack in central Mali, the army said on Thursday.

The troops came under fire from "unidentified armed men" in Dioungani, an area in the country's volatile Mopti region near the border with Burkina Faso, the army said on Twitter.

It gave a "provisional toll" of six dead and several wounded without giving further details.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Two soldiers were killed in the Mopti region on Tuesday when their convoy hit a roadside bomb.

Mali has struggled to contain an armed uprising that erupted in the north in 2012 and has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians in the years since.

More than 140 Malian soldiers reportedly died in attacks between September and December alone.

The conflict has engulfed the centre of the country and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger - despite the presence of 4,500 French troops in the Sahel region, plus a 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping force.