The UNPOL and Military components of the UNMISS conduct a sweep for weapons and contraband in the Protection of Civilian site 3 neighboring the UN base, Jebel area, Juba  South Sudan  / UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein

By  Gary  Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED  NATIONS  –   NEW  YORK  –  In the past week alone, the UN has lost 9 peacekeepers who were killed in hostile incidents in Africa.  Two U.N. peacekeepers were killed in the latest incident involving an attack Monday in the Central African Republic, the UN said.  The deadly attack  happened on the Bangassou-Gambo axis, after peacekeepers came under fire.  The Mission also reported in a statement that combatants have left the city of Bangassou, in Mbomou prefecture, on Friday and that UN peacekeepers are now fully in control of that city. The Mission also reported that it escorted a convoy of 30 commercial vehicles from Bangui to the border with Cameroon on Sunday, according to the UN Secretary-General’s  spokesman Stephane Dujarric.  Last Friday, another attack against a UN convoy in Mali near Tessalit in the  Kidal region reulted in the death of one Egyptian peacekeeper and serious injuries to another. 

Last Wednesday,  four  United Nations peacekeepers in Mali were killed and six others wounded in an attack by unidentified armed elements, 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  Antonio 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 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.

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

Des éléments de a Brigade d’intervention de la Force de la MONUSCO en pleine démonstration de techniques de combat. La Brigade a été mandatée par le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies pour neutraliser tous les groupes armés dans la partie est de la R. D. Congo. Photo MONUSCO/Clara Padovan

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.