UNITED NATIONS (PA) – A fourth UN peacekeeper from Côte d’Ivoire has died from injuries inflicted by an improvised explosive device and an attack by unidentified armed men in the region of Timbuktu in the north of Mali, the United Nations announced Thursday.

In Wednesday’s incident, the UN initially reported that three Ivorian peacekeepers died and six were injured.

“This morning, we learned from the (UN) mission that unfortunately, a fourth Ivorian peacekeeper died of his injuries during the night in Bamako,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane. Dujarric. “Five peacekeepers were injured in the attack; three of them are evacuated to Dakar for additional medical treatment.

The attack began when the peacekeeper’s vehicle struck an improvised explosive device during a security operation along the Douentza and Timbuktu axis about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the city of Bamabara. -Maoude in the Timbuktu region, the United Nations peacekeeping mission known as MINUSMA said in a statement. The gunmen who then fired at the peacekeepers fled and medical evacuations were carried out by helicopter.

The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned the attack. He called on the transitional government of Mali to promptly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice, while “reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and international security ”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned Wednesday’s attack and stressed that attacks on UN peacekeepers “could constitute a war crime,” the spokesperson said. from the UN, Stéphane Dujarric.

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