Bamako - Mali said three of its nationals were killed in a village near the Guinean border during a violent skirmish between miners over a gold discovery.
Guinean miners armed with guns and knives killed them in the village of Sanafara, about 100km west of the capital, according to a Malian government statement.
"The provisional death toll is three and several Malians injured," said the statement late on Thursday, describing an incident the day before.