UN peacekeeper killed, 8 significantly injured after assault in Mali

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Attackers killed one UN peacekeeper and significantly injured eight others Friday in Mali’s northern Timbuktu area, an space the place extremists proceed to function, the United Nations mentioned.

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The peacekeepers, all from Burkina Faso, had been a part of a safety patrol that was focused first by an improvised explosive system after which by direct small arms hearth 7 km from their base within the city of Ber, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric mentioned.

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The United Nations joined the top of the peacekeeping mission in Mali, El-Ghassim Wane, in strongly condemning the assault, Dujarric mentioned.

U.N. Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres referred to as on Mali’s transitional authorities to determine the perpetrators of the assault and convey them to justice swiftly, noting that “assaults concentrating on UN peacekeepers could represent conflict crimes underneath worldwide legislation,” Dujarric mentioned.

Mali has been dominated by a army junta since a 2020 coup in opposition to an elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. It has confronted destabilizing assaults by armed extremist teams linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group since 2013.

In 2021, France and its European companions engaged within the struggle in opposition to extremists in Mali’s north withdrew from the nation after the junta introduced in mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group.

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The US warned Mali’s army authorities in April that it could be “irresponsible” for the United Nations to proceed deploying its greater than 15,000 peacekeepers until the Western African nation ends restrictions, together with on working reconnaissance drones, and carries out political commitments towards peace and elections in March 2024.

The warning got here because the UN Safety Council considers three choices proposed by Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres for the peacekeeping mission’s future: Improve its dimension, cut back its footprint or withdraw troops and police and switch it right into a political mission. Its present mandate expires on June 30.

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Dujarric mentioned the peacekeeper killed on Friday was the ninth to die in Mali this 12 months. The secretary-general paid tribute to “the dedication and braveness” of peacekeepers in Mali who work “in extraordinarily difficult circumstances,” he mentioned.

“This tragic loss is a stark reminder of the dangers that peacekeepers in Mali and different locations around the globe face whereas tirelessly working to deliver stability and peace to the individuals of Mali,” he mentioned.

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