Mali - 2 UN Peacekeepers Killed By Roadside Bomb

Sylvain Liechti / UN Photo
A UN convoy travels between Gao and Kidal, in Northern Mali, in February 2017.
17 October 2022
Deutsche Welle (Bonn)

The UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA reported that one of its vehicles hit a bomb next to a highway in Mali's northeast. More than 70 peacekeepers in Mali have been killed by explosives since 2013, the mission said.

Two UN peacekeepers were killed on Monday by a highway bomb in Mali, according to the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA.

The bomb, which went off in the northeastern Kidal region, also injured four peacekeepers.

"Two MINUSMA peacekeepers were killed today...when their vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device during a mine search and detection patrol in Tessalit, Kidal region", the peacekeeping force tweeted.

What is the UN's mission in Mali?

The UN mission currently has around 12,000 military personnel deployed in Mali.

MINUSMA said that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have killed 74 peacekeepers since 2013, when the mission began.

A report by MINUSMA said that IEDs and mines killed 103 people and injured 297 in Mali last year.

Mali has been battling an Islamist insurgency in its north since 2012. The conflict has since spread to neighboring countries in the Sahel region.

Late last month, Malian interim Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga accused Paris of having stabbed Mali "in the back"following the withdrawal of French forces. In July, Bamako expelled a MINUSMA spokesman over the UN's position on a spat between Mali and the Ivory Coast.

(AFP, Reuters)

Tagged:
Copyright © 2022 Deutsche Welle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.