Credit: UN.org / MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko /  UN Security Council delegation press conference with the national and international press at the Sheraton Hotel in Bamako, Mali Mar. 23, 2019. UN Security Council President French ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre ( 2nd-from right) and German ambassador Christoph Heusgen (far left), chaired the delegation meeting.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

The number of civilian casualties from a weekend attack on a village in west Africa nation Mali has increased to more than 150 killed, according to the UN Mission in the country (MINUSMA). In a Monday briefing with journalists at UN headquarters in New York, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres, provided the update on the weekend attack on the village of Ogossagou Peulh, in the Mopti region, in central Mali.  It was initially reported that 134 were killed. More than 150 Fulani  were massacred as there seems to be no end in sight to ethnic and jihadist violence in Mali, despite the presence of thousands of French and UN Peacekeepers.

“The peacekeeping mission also says that in addition to casualty evacuation services it provided for the injured over the weekend, it will support a visit of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to the village – and this is scheduled for today. The Mission has also strengthened its presence in area.”

UN Secretary-General spokesperson Dujarric

The horrific attack occurred right at the moment  UN Security Council members were meeting in the west African nation on the future of the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) that is set to expire June 30, 2019. An ethnic Dogon militia already blamed for scores of attacks in central Mali over the past year attacked an ethnic Peuhl village just before dawn on Saturday.

International Criminal Court Condemns Deadly Mali Attack

Credit:  UN Photo / Manuel Elias /  Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court addresses UN 
Security Council meeting – The situation in Libya – May 26, 2016.

“It is with grave concern that I note the recurrent violence in central Mali. On Saturday, 23 March, the Ogossagou village in the Mopti region was reportedly the scene of vicious attacks resulting in the alleged massacre of more than 130 innocent civilians, including women and children, with dozens more seriously wounded. I strongly condemn these crimes and call on all parties to refrain from resorting to violence.”

Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Mar. 25, 2019

Credit: Photo : MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko /  Mar. 23, 2019,  Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso. / UN Security Council President French ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre ( Center), German ambassador Christoph Heusgen (left) and Côte d’Ivoire representative (right) meeting on Mali situation. 

Credit: Photo : MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko / France UN Ambassador Francois Delattre attends Commemorative ceremony in honor of peacekeepers who sacrificed their lives for peace in Mali Mar. 23, 2019. 

UN Vows Mali Peacekeeping Mission Will Continue Despite Being The Deadliest In World 

“MINUSMA is to support the Malian State through the protection of civilians,” 

France’s UN Ambassador François Delattre  , speaking as President of the UN Security Council,  proclaimed in Mali at a press conference. 

Council members also participated in the laying of wreaths at MINUSMA’s  Mali headquarters in memory of the 195 MINUSMA peacekeepers who have fallen in the line of duty since 2013. Among them, 122 have died as a result of malicious acts, 16 since the beginning of the year.