Mali's Tuareg rebels have seized a UN base in Kidal, northern Mali, after UN peacekeepers hastily left the area.

The UN mission, Minusma, ended its presence in Kidal due to two explosive attacks on its peacekeepers' convoy en route to Gao, another significant northern town.

The Tuareg coalition claimed victory on social media, asserting control of the Kidal base. Local sources reported that the rebels occupied the camp immediately after the UN mission's departure.

This marks the third and final camp evacuated by the mission in the troubled Kidal region, plagued by jihadist and separatist violence.

Despite previous ceasefire agreements with authorities, separatist groups have recently resumed hostilities, opposing the handover of their camps to the Malian army.

Mali's military government has also called for the UN force to leave the country by year-end, citing the mission's failure in combating Islamist militants over the past decade.