2 UN peacekeeper killed, 2 wounded in central Mali

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - Two peacekeeper were killed and two wounded Friday in an attack on a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) near Douentza in central Mali, UN sources reported.

​​​​​​​The improvised explosive device attack was carried out by extremist elements on the Douentza-Tombouctou road, said El-Ghassim Wane, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Mali and head of MINUSMA.

"It has been a hard, hard week for us. We cannot say enough about the difficulty of our task & the extreme dedication of our peacekeepers," he said.

Wane condemned the attack that came one day after a peacekeeper was killed and three were wounded while repelling a terror attack in the Kidal region in the northern part of the country.

That attack was the fifth in the Kidal region in one week, according to MINUSMA, that lamenting the "complexity" of its task and "the threats it faces daily."

Mali is one of the Sahel countries that has been under the yoke of terrorism for years.

The country is helped by MINUSMA, which has lost more than 160 personnel since 2013 out of an authorized strength of more than 13,200 troops.