From Mali, CEOAFRICA.com gathered that President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has cut short a visit to France and returned home amid renewed fight between government forces and Tuareg rebels.

According to what the news desk gathered, the Malian embassy in Paris said yesterday that President Keita had headed home prematurely after talks with President Francois Hollande of France because of fresh fighting in the north of Mali.

Keita’s return shortened his intended four-day visit to two.

On Sunday night, government forces and rebels traded heavy gunfire in Mali's northeastern town of Kidal after rebels allegedly ambushed soldiers at a bank.