Authorities in Mali have imposed a 30-day curfew on Timbuktu and cancelled flights from the Malian capital Bamako to the northern cities of Timbuktu and Gao over security concerns.
This came after several shells landed near Timbuktu airport on Monday and a United Nations camp was struck.
The city has been under a blockade for the past month after terrorist insurgents cut off road and river routes.
There are concerns of further instability as thousands of UN peacekeepers left the country following a request by the military rulers who seized power in a coup.
There has been heightened fighting between the army and predominantly Tuareg rebels in both Timbuktu and Gao.
An al Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility on Friday for a suicide bomb attack on a military base in northeastern Mali, a day after authorities blamed the group for carrying out a double assault on another military camp and on a boat that killed more than 60 people.
