7 UN peacekeepers killed, 3 hurt in Mali blast

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Seven UN peacekeepers were killed and three seriously wounded in an explosion in central Mali on Wednesday, the UN mission in the West African country said.

A logistics convoy struck an improvised explosive device in the Bandiagara region, while heading to the town of Sevare from Douentza, according to Olivier Salgado, spokesperson for MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali.

El-Ghassim Wane, head of MINUSMA, strongly condemned the “cowardly” attack on peacekeepers, stressing that it could constitute a war crime under international law.

“This tragedy adds to the macabre tally of attacks on peacekeepers in Mali,” he said in a statement.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN under-secretary-general for peace operations, identified the fallen peacekeepers as Togolese nationals.

“These crimes must not go unpunished,” he said on Twitter.

No group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s blast, which came on the heels of recent attacks on four MINUSMA camps in northern Mali.

The UN mission has recorded more than 230 fatalities since its deployment in Mali in 2013, according to UN data.

Mali has been battling an insurgency linked to the al-Qaeda and Daesh/ISIS terror groups since 2012, when unrest erupted in the north of the West African country.​​​​​​​

The violence, which has killed thousands of civilians and troops, has also spread to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso.