UN retreat from Mali in disarray as violence surges

An armored vehicle escorting a MINUSMA logistic convoy from Gao to Kidal, is parked as trucks pass by, Mali February 16, 2017. Each month MINUSMA organizes logistic convoys involving hundreds of civilians and military vehicles to supply remote UN bases in northern Mali. Picture taken February 16, 2017. MINUSMA/Sylvain Liechti handout via REUTERS/File Photo

DAKAR (Reuters) - Before United Nations peacekeepers hurriedly abandoned their base in Kidal in northern Mali on Tuesday, they made a costly call: with insurgents stationed nearby, they destroyed sensitive equipment to avoid it falling into the wrong hands, the U.N. said.

Shortly after the last U.N. convoy rolled out, the ethnic Tuareg rebels announced they had taken over the base. Photos posted on social media on Wednesday appeared to show locals loading trucks with looted goods, including tyres, cables and chairs.