Several people died on Monday in Mali's restive north in clashes pitting a pro-government Tuareg group and the main Tuareg rebel body, security sources said.

The fighting erupted at Agnefis, about 120 kilometres (74 miles) south of the strategic northern town of Kidal, "killing several people," a UN source said. An official from the main rebel Tuareg group CMA said it had "suffered at least 15 deaths, including the lives of some military chiefs."