The mayor of Anderaboukane,  a northern region Mali was accidentally shot dead by government troops who opened fire on his vehicle when he allegedly disregarded an order to stop.

In a statement, the Malian army said “a suspicious vehicle did not heed an order by the Malian armed forces to comply with their instruction”.

The military said the incident happened in an environment marked by terrorist attacks, and government troops unwilling to take chances, opened fire on the vehicle.