UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned an attack in Kidal, northern Mali, against a convoy of UN peacekeepers that killed a Guinean soldier.
The Guinean peacekeeper was killed by an improvised explosive device, which detonated during a UN Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) mine detection operation.
In a statement by UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, the secretary-general conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim and his brothers in arms, as well as to the people and authorities of Guinea.
Guterres recalled that going by international laws, attacks targeting UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.
He called on the Malian authorities to ‘spare no effort’ in identifying the perpetrators so that they can swiftly be brought to justice swiftly
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Haq said that ‘the secretary-general reaffirms the solidarity of the United Nations with the people and authorities of Mali in their pursuit of peace and security’.
Since the beginning of the year, several attacks involving IEDs have been recorded against MINUSMA uniformed personnel, which have killed a number of peacekeepers and injured others.
French troops had last week announced that there were officially handing back a military base in northeastern Mali ahead of a final withdrawal from the Sahel nation, France’s army has confirmed, after nine years of fighting a jihadist insurgency in the West African country.
Meanwhile, the UN’s emissary there have warned that their withdrawal could leave Menaka, where they were based, vulnerable to a jihadist attack.