A UN MINUSMA peacekeeper stands guard at a stop on the way to village of Ogossagou 144 kilometres from town of Sévaré in the Mopti region of central Mali. (UN Photo: Harandane Dicko Aug. 30, 2022)
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – Three UN peacekeepers from Senegal were killed in central Mali Tuesday and five others injured when their vehicle hit an explosive device, the UN Mission in the country, MINUSMA, reported. The incident took place near the village of Songobia, 29 km southwest of the town of Bandiagara, as their supply convoy was en route to its base in Sévaré, according to MINUSMA. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack against the peacekeepers that may constitute war crimes.
“The Secretary-General conveys his heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of Senegal and his profound sympathies to the families of the victims. He wishes a speedy and full recovery to the five injured peacekeepers. The Secretary-General recalls that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He calls on the Malian authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this attack so that they can be brought to justice swiftly.”
-Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General
MINUSMA Head of Mission El-Ghassim Wane also condemned the attack. “This is another tragic illustration of the complexity of our operational environment and the sacrifices made by the international community for peace in Mali,” he said. He stressed “the need to do everything possible to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of hostile acts against MINUSMA”.
Mission In West Africa Nation Mali The Most Dangerous In The World For UN Peacekeepers
UN MINUSMA Peacekeeping operation in Africa / (credit: un.org)
MINUSMA is the most dangerous peace operations for peacekeepers. Since its establishment in Mali in 2013, nearly 200 peacekeepers have lost their lives in hostile acts.
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.”
