UN chief slams deadly attacks on blue helmets in Mali

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned deadly attacks on UN peacekeepers in Mali, which killed five peacekeepers from Chad, and called for "swift action to bring the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice."

"The secretary-general condemns the deadly complex attack that took place today, and which killed five peacekeepers and injured three others from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)," said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman.

According to preliminary information, a MINUSMA convoy hit an improvised explosive device and then came under fire by an unknown group of armed assailants approximately 15 km north of Aguelhok, Kidal region in north Mali. Five Chadian peacekeepers were killed and three others injured during the attack.

"Since the beginning of the year, a dozen attacks against the United Nations have been registered in Kidal region, resulting in the death of at least 12 United Nations personnel, including today's victims," said the statement.

Ban called for "swift action to bring the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice and recalls that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers constitute war crimes under international law," the statement said.

The secretary-general presented his sincere condolences to the families of the five peacekeepers who have died in the cause of peace and to the government and people of Chad, and wished a prompt recovery to those injured, the statement said.

"The secretary-general reiterates that the United Nations will continue to support the stabilization of Mali and the implementation of the peace agreement and expresses his full support to the Malian authorities in their efforts to address violence and insecurity in the country," the statement added.

MINUSMA was established by the UN Security Council on April 25, 2013. Under the relevant Security Council resolution, the UN mission is mandated to support the political process in the West African country and carry out a number of security-related stabilization tasks, with a focus on major population centers and lines of communication and protecting civilians.

Since a military coup struck Mali in March 2012, its northern region has served as a stronghold of the rebels.

Mali is now in the process of restoring democracy with the help of the United Nations and African regional bodies, including the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Despite initial security improvements in 2013, the situation in northern Mali has deteriorated since the beginning of 2014. An increase in incidents involving improvised explosive devices, mostly targeting Malian and international security forces, has impeded the return to normalcy and resumption of economic and development activities.

Source: XINHUA