Mali Govt. Says BAMAKO, Ramadan 11, 1434, Jul 20, 2013, SPA -- Four electoral officials and a deputy mayor were kidnapped by suspected Tuareg separatists in northern Mali on Saturday, Reuters cited officials as saying, adding to tensions stirred by ethnic clashes before next week's presidential vote. Earlier on Saturday, Mali's government accused the MNLA rebels of violating a ceasefire deal this week after four people died in clashes between pro-separatist Tuareg youths and black Africans in the northern town of Kidal. The local representatives of Mali's Independent National Electoral Commission and the deputy mayor of Tessalit were kidnapped by armed men just outside the desert town on Saturday morning, the prefect said. "It is the MNLA who are responsible. They are the only armed group here aside from the French and the Chadian army," he said by telephone. "They are trying to sabotage the elections." The July 28 presidential vote, pushed for by France and Western donors, is meant to draw a line under a military coup last year that led to a 10-month seizure of northern Mali by al Qaeda-linked rebels. -- SPA 20:33 LOCAL TIME 17:33 GMT تغريد
