UNIFIL peacekeepers drive in a vehicle in Naqoura, in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, Oct. 13, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Aziz Taher.

Twenty United Nations peacekeepers were injured, including several seriously, in central Mali on Wednesday when their base came under fire, a UN mission spokesman said.

The base near the town of Douentza in was attacked around 0700 GMT, a spokesman for the MINUSMA mission, Olivier Salgado, told Reuters.

He did not say who was responsible. Islamist militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic States regularly attack UN peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the area.

“The MINUSMA chief firmly condemns the attack and has ordered that all measures be taken to treat the wounded,” Salgado said.

Deployed since 2013, the UN currently has over 14,000 peacekeepers in Mali.