Attack kills at least two people in Mali’s besieged city of Timbuktu

Fighters in the desert outside Timbuktu have laid siege to the city since August [File: AP]

At least two people have been killed and five wounded when artillery fire hit the northern Malian city of Timbuktu, a month and a half into a blockade by fighters in the area.

Attacks in northern Mali have more than doubled since United Nations peacekeepers completed the first phase of their withdrawal last month after a decade of fighting armed groups, resulting in more than 150 deaths.