Peacekeepers killed by explosive device in central Mali

Published on : 12/08/2021 – 5:39 PM

Seven peacekeepers were killed and three others seriously injured by an explosive device, Wednesday, December 8, in central Mali, announced the UN Mission in Mali (Minusma).

“On December 8, a logistics convoy of the Force (Minusma) going from Douentza to Sévaré (center) struck an explosive device. A first assessment shows seven peacekeepers dead and three seriously injured,” Minusma said on Twitter , without specifying the nationality of the victims. The incident took place in the Bandiagara area, in the Mopti region, added Minusma.

It occurs the day after the announcement by the Minusma of the death, Monday in Dakar, of a peacekeeper who had been hit in the explosion of an improvised explosive device when his vehicle passed, on November 22 near Tessalit, in northern Mali. The nationality of the peacekeeper was not specified.

This peacekeeper had been taken to Dakar for treatment with two other Minusma soldiers injured during the same incident.

Mali has been the scene since 2012 of a nagging conflict with repeated attacks by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, coupled with violence against civilians committed by armed groups, some self-proclaimed self-defense.

Minusma, deployed in Mali since 2013, is currently the United Nations peace mission with the most deaths in the world, with 146 of its members killed in hostile acts recorded as of October 31, according to UN statistics.

With AFP