Les Forces Armées Maliennes (FAMa) sont responsables de la défense de l’intégrité territoriale et la souveraineté du Mali.
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
At least 30 Malian soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack this week in the northern region of the west African nation, Mali’s military reported. About 100 armed assailants on motorbikes and pickup trucks on Monday stormed a military post southwest of the town of Ansongo, near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali’s army said. The army also reported that at least 14 persons were wounded in the attack.
Le #CEMGA informe l’opinion nationale et internationale que suite à l’attaque terroristes du lundi 15 mars 2021 contre la relève montante du poste de sécurité de #Tessit, localité située à une soixantaine de km au Sud-Est d’#Ansongo (#Gao). pic.twitter.com/WabG7WuSxC
— Forces Armées Maliennes (@FAMa_DIRPA) March 17, 2021
The Malian Army in a statement on social media extended its condolences to the soldiers’ families, stressing “the necessity of strengthening the fight against terrorism”
Eighth Attack on Soldiers in MALI After 2020 Military Coup – 80 Soldiers Killed
Les Forces Armées Maliennes (FAMa) sont responsables de la défense de l’intégrité territoriale et la souveraineté du Mali.
Mali was plunged into political chaos following a military coup last year on August 18 that forced out President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta . A group of military officers, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), has controlled the West African country after the mutineers detained Keïta at gunpoint, arrested him and forced him to resign. Former Mali defence minister and retired colonel Bah Ndaw was named interim president while the leader of the junta that seized power last month, Colonel Assimi Goita, was appointed vice president.
UN Appoints Diplomat El-Ghassim Wane of Mauritania as Special Representative for Troubled MALI
(credit: elliott.gwu.edu) Mauritanian diplomat El-Ghassim Wane has been named the new UN envoy to Mali
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday announced the appointment of El-Ghassim Wane of Mauritania as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Ambassador Wane is set to lead one of the UN organisation’s most important and dangerous peace operations in the world. Wane succeeds Annadif Khatir Mahamat Saleh of Chad, to whom the Secretary-General said he is grateful for his invaluable contribution to peace and reconciliation efforts in Mali. Wane brings 25 years of experience in conflict prevention, mediation and peacekeeping, having served as Chief of Staff and Chief Adviser of the African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson (2017-2019) and United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (2016-2017).
Mission In West Africa Nation Mali The Most Dangerous In The World For UN Peacekeepers
UN MINUSMA peacekeepers (Blue Hats) in Mali (credit: UN Photo)
Despite the presence of thousands of UN peacekeepers and foreign troops, terror and violent attacks linked to militant Islamic groups in the Africa SAHEL region have increased dramatically during the past few years. There are nearly 22,000 troops in the Sahel, but they have yet to succeed in stopping the Islamist insurgency.
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.
