Mali soldiers storm state broadcaster: reports

Disgruntled soldiers have stormed Mali's state broadcaster in the capital, Bamako, according to reports.

Heavy gunfire has been reported in the center of Bamako, where armored vehicles have sealed off the presidential palace.

Reuters reported that 10 minutes of automatic gunfire was heard coming from near the state broadcaster. State TV is off the air, the BBC said.

Agence France-Presse reported that "dozens" of Malian soldiers fired into the air before storming the state broadcaster's offices.

"We are tired of the situation in the north,"  a soldier told AFP.

Earlier today, government troops protested the lack of arms in their campaign against Tuareg rebels fighting for an independent homeland in the country's north.

A rebellion in northern Mali led by the nomadic Tuareg desert tribe has claimed dozens of lives. Clashes between the rebels and government forces have displaced nearly 200,000 people.

An unnamed army corporal told AFP that soldiers were not seeking the departure of President Amadou Toumani Toure.

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