"A suicide attack at a Gao camp. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita decrees a three-day national mourning," the presidential office tweeted, saying a delegation, headed by Malian Defense Minister Abdoulaye Maiga, was on its way.
Earlier, Reuters reported that 25 people were killed in the blast, citing a provisional death toll announced by the army.
Following the explosion, French Minister of the Interior Bruno Le Roux called it a "major and symbolic attack."
Malian President Ibrahim Keita declared three days of national mourning on Wednesday, his office said.
France has been aiding Malian forces to reclaim the country’s north from Islamist insurgents since 2013. But rights advocacy groups, such as Human Rights Watch, repeatedly accused Mali's government of failing to protect the local population from jihadist groups.
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