(Credit: MINUSMA/Gema Cortes) UN peacekeepers patrol the Mopti region in central Mali.
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – Two UN peacekeepers from Egypt were killed Monday when the logistics convoy they were traveling in hit an improvised explosive device north of Mopti in Mali west Africa. The convoy was from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The peacekeepers were part of a logistics convoy on its way to Timbuktu, according to MINUSMA. The UN Special Representative and head of MINUSMA, El-Ghassim WANE, strongly condemned the attack in the volatile central region of Mali, where Government forces have been fighting an Islamist insurgency for the past decade. Four other peacekeepers were wounded.
Saddened by the death of 2 #Peacekeepers killed today near Mopti when their vehicle, part of an @UN_MINUSMA logistics convoy, hit an #IED. 4 others were wounded. This is a tragic reminder of the daily threat facing us as we strive to further #peace in #Mali. #ServiceandSacrifice
— El-Ghassim Wane (@elghassimw) March 7, 2022
27 MALI Soldiers Killed in Attack by Insurgents
(Les Forces Armées Maliennes (FAMa) sont responsables de la défense de l’intégrité territoriale et la souveraineté du Mali)
On Friday, March 4, at least 27 Malian soldiers were killed and 32 wounded during a battle with insurgents in the region of Mondor in central Mali, the government reported. The Mondoro base is near Mali’s border with Burkina Faso.
COMMUNIQUE DU GOUVERNEMENT DE LA TRANSITION-ATTAQUE COMPLEXE DU POSTE DE SECURITE DE #MONDORO. pic.twitter.com/gcvOcXzrlq
— Forces Armées Maliennes (@FAMa_DIRPA) March 4, 2022
UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned Attacks
UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack, and extended his deep condolences to the bereaved, as well as to the Government and people of Egypt, and called on the Malian authorities to “spare no effort in identifying and swiftly bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice,” according to a statement by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General
“The Secretary-General reiterates the United Nations continued support to, and solidarity with, the people and Government of Mali including through enhancing the capacity of MINUSMA to protect civilians in the centre of Mali and supporting a Government-led strategy to stabilize that region.”
Mission In West Africa Nation Mali The Most Dangerous In The World For UN Peacekeepers
UN MINUSMA Peacekeeping operation in Africa / (credit: un.org)
Today, MINUSMA is the deadliest mission to serve in as a UN ‘blue helmet’ with more than 200 killed since it was established in 2013, according to the UN.
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.”
