UN peacekeeper killed in ‘terrorist’ attack in northern Mali
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A UN peacekeeper was killed and three others injured on Wednesday in a “terrorist attack” on their convoy in Kidal, northern Mali, according to the UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA.
The victims were members of the mission’s Jordanian contingent, a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The convoy patrolling near the town of Kidal in northern Mali was hit by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in an attack that lasted about an hour, the spokesperson tweeted. of MINUSMA, Olivier Salgado.
“Unfortunately, one of the blue helmets succumbed to his injuries following the attack,” he posted in French.
No details were given of the alleged attackers.
MINUSMA – the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali – was deployed in 2013 to help strengthen the fragile Sahel state in the face of jihadist attacks.
With 13,000 personnel, the mission is one of the largest UN peacekeeping operations, and also one of the most dangerous. It indicates that 172 soldiers died as a result of hostile acts.
“Exponential increase” in violence against civilians
The latest attack came days after a MINUSMA report released earlier this week noted an “exponential increase” in violence against civilians in Mali.
While jihadists remain the main source of violence against civilians, there has been an “exponential increase” in deaths and other abuses linked to the armed forces, “supported by foreign military elements”, the peacekeeping force has said. peace of the UN MINUSMA.
The number of people killed in the first quarter of 2022 by all parties to the conflict – jihadists, militias, vigilante groups and security forces – quadrupled in the last three months of 2021, from 128 to 543.
A total of 248 civilians killed are attributable to the defense and security forces, according to the report.
It recorded 320 human rights violations during this period that could be attributed to government forces – a tenfold increase from the last quarter of 2021, when 31 cases were documented.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)