UN MINUSMA Peacekeeping operation in Africa / (credit: un.org)

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED  NATIONS  –  NEW  YORK  –  Four  United Nations peacekeepers in Mali were killed and six others wounded in an attack by unidentified armed elements on Wednesday, the UN mission in the country confirmed.  The peacekeepers’ convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED), and the troops then came under attack by unidentified gunmen in the vast Timbuktu region. The attack  killed four  Côte d’Ivoire peacekeepers.  UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack and called on Malian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.  Guterres suggested the attacks on UN peacekeepers may constitute a war crime.  

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns today’s attack by unidentified armed elements against a convoy of the United Nations Integrated Stabilization Mission for Mali (MINUSMA) in Timbuktu region, which resulted in the death of three Ivorian peacekeepers.    The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the bereaved families as well as to the people and Government of Côte d’Ivoire.  He wishes speedy and full recovery to the six injured peacekeepers.  The Secretary-General emphasizes that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime. He calls on the Malian authorities to spare no efforts in identifying and promptly bringing to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack.”

-Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General

The UN Secretary-General urged the Malian authorities “to spare no efforts in identifying and promptly bringing to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack.”  Guterres also reaffirmed the solidarity of the United Nations with the people and Government of Mali.      The attack against MINUSMA peacekeepers took place the same day as another attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (known by its French acronym, MINUSCA), in which a Rwandan peacekeeper was killed.

Côte d’Ivoire President  Alassane  Ouattara Condemns “Murderous Attack “

J’ai appris avec beaucoup de peine l’attaque meurtrière contre un de nos détachements engagés au sein de la MINUSMA au Mali.
Je rends hommage à ces braves soldats, morts et blessés pour la paix. Mes condoléances les plus émues à leurs familles. Ma compassion aux blessés.

— Alassane Ouattara (@AOuattara_PRCI) January 13, 2021

Mission In West Africa Nation Mali The Most Dangerous In The World For UN Peacekeepers 

(Credit: MINUSMA/Gema Cortes)     MINUSMA peacekeepers on patrol in northern Mali.

Today, MINUSMA is the deadliest mission to serve in as a UN ‘blue helmet’ with nearly 200  paying the ultimate sacrifice, since it was established in 2013. In 2019 alone, the number of fatalities stands at 15, according to the  UN. 

Meanwhile, the terror threat in Mali continues unabated despite a massive deployment UN peacekeepers and  French troops tasked with halting jihadist’s attacks. There have been  25 French soldiers confirmed killed since the start of Operation Barkhane, which was launched more than four years ago to quell jihadist activity in the former French colony of Mali and in neighbouring countries.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was established by Security Council resolution 2100 of 25 April 2013 to support political processes in that country and carry out a number of security-related tasks. In 2012, Islamist radicals linked to al-Qaeda hijacked an uprising by ethnic Tuareg people and went on to seize cities across northern Mali, holding on for nearly a year until they were forced out by a French military intervention, according to the Washington Post. When the 11,000 U.N. troops arrived in 2013, they were meant to protect a fledgling peace deal and train the Malian army. But Islamist extremists regrouped across the region. It did not take long before the militants started targeting peacekeepers, whom they dubbed “Crusader occupation forces.”

Mali Transition Presents Opportunity to Break ‘Vicious Circle of Political Crises’:    UN  Ambassador To  MALI 

(Credit: MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko)   UN peacekeepers patrol the Menaka region in northeast Mali.

The current political transition period in Mali offers an opportunity to “break out of the vicious circle of political crises followed by coups d’état”, the UN envoy in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.  

(credit unminusma)  Special Representative and Head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) Mahamat Saleh Annadif

Following the 18 August mutiny that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Special Representative and Head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) Mahamat Saleh Annadif, said the country was now four months in, to a planned 18-month transition period, leading to presidential and legislative elections.

“However, it is never too late to reach a minimum consensus on the essentials of peace and stability, because the future of Mali is at stake”, he stated. 

Against this backdrop,  Annadif said the UN, African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and others have always stood ready to support Mali’s institutional transitions.  He said that several missions and meetings had taken place in Bamako since the August coup and described consultations between the Government and the signatories of the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation “encouraging”.   The Malian Government has been seeking to restore stability and rebuild following a series of setbacks since early 2012 that fractured the country, including a failed coup d’état, renewed fighting between Government forces and Tuareg rebels, and the seizure of its northern territory by radical extremists.