UNITED NATIONS – A UN convoy in the Kidal region of northern Mali was attacked by improvised explosive devices, killing an Egyptian peacekeeper and seriously injuring four others, the United Nations said on Saturday.

The attack on the convoy of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali took place near Tessalit, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the Malian authorities “to spare no effort to identify the perpetrators of these attacks so that they can be brought to justice quickly”, reiterating that the attacks against soldiers of the peace can constitute war crimes under international law, said Dujarric.

Guterres reaffirmed the UN’s support for the government and people of Mali and expressed his deep condolences to the family of the Egyptian soldier who was killed as well as to the government and people of Egypt, and wishes a speedy recovery to wounded.

Mali has been trying to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. Extremist rebels were ousted from power in towns in northern Mali with the help of a military operation led by France in 2013. However, the insurgents quickly fell out. regrouped in the desert and began to launch frequent attacks against the Malian army and its allies fighting the insurgency.

The extremists have extended their reach into central Mali, where their presence has exacerbated tensions between ethnic groups in the region.

The UN peacekeeping mission has been in Mali since 2013, after Islamist extremists took control of major cities in the north. It is the deadliest for the peacekeepers.