Mali: Official says 4 dead, 7 wounded in protests in Kidal

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) - A Mali official says four civilians have died, and seven have been wounded in protests at the airport of the northern city of Kidal against arrests made by French forces.

Mohamed Ag Intalla, a Kidal traditional chief and national assembly member, said the wounded have been hospitalized.

Protester Mohamed Ag Ibrahim said dozens of demonstrators set fire to a firefighting car and generators to protest against French forces for extraditing recently arrested people to Gao and Bamako.

The United Nations Mali mission said demonstrators broke into the airport, a key center for humanitarian assistance in northern Mali. The U.N. said peacekeepers have left the airstrip and returned to their base in Kidal.

French forces helped push Islamic extremists from strongholds in northern Mali.