Bamako:
A peacekeeper with the UN force in Mali was killed early on Saturday when gunmen launched a fresh attack on the camp housing UN troops in the country's north, UN officials said.
"Terrorists attacked the MINUSMA camp" in the early morning hours on Saturday, a source with the UN force told AFP. "MINUSMA soldiers responded and unfortunately one Chadian soldier was killed, another injured."
The attack was swiftly slammed by the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack on a camp of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) that took place today in Kidal," his spokesman said.
"These attacks will not alter the determination of the United Nations to support the Malian people in its search for peace. This latest attack only highlights the urgency of reaching a political settlement to end the conflict and enable the full restoration of State authority across the entire Malian territory," the statement added.
The attack marked the latest raid by suspected jihadists in Mali's restive north and came a day after two Malian soldiers were killed in the central town of Tenenkou.
The vast, sparsely-populated region fell to Islamist groups in 2012 before the extremists were routed from the area by a French-led military intervention which has since been replaced by the UN MINUSMA force.
Jihadists launch regular raids on UN forces. On January 5, 11 Malian soldiers were killed during an assault on the Nampala garrison near the border with Mauritania.