New York: A UN peacekeeper from Egypt was killed and another seriously injured in Kidal region of Mali when an explosive device hit a vehicle of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) on October 15. In another incident on the same day in Timbuktu, an indirect fire attack against the Mission’s integrated camp resulted in at least one Burkinabe peacekeeper wounded.
Condemning these two attacks, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today recalled that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He called on the Malian authorities to take urgent steps to apprehend and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice.
Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the people and Governments of Egypt and Mali and extended his sympathies to the bereaved families and wished a swift recovery to the injured.
These incidents came three days after 12 civilians and at least 11 soldiers of the Malian Defence and Security Forces had been killed in attacks in central Mali.
The MINUSMA has been in Mali since 2013, after Islamic extremists took control of major towns in the northern part of the country. Only in August last year, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was ousted from power by a military junta, which under international pressure had to appoint a civilian government to lead the country through an 18-month transition period to new elections.
Last week the administration were compelled to release four hostages, including Malian politician Soumaila Cisse and three westerners, in exchange for the release of nearly 200 jailed jihadists.
– globalbihari bureau
