Kampala - Five United Nations peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali Sunday morning, with another “blue helmet” seriously injured, according to a press statement from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
The ambush occurred around 11.00am near the town of Sevaré.
Preliminary information indicates that five Togolese peacekeepers were killed.
Another who was seriously injured has been evacuated.
“I condemn in the strongest terms this despicable crime in addition to other terrorist acts that targeted our peacekeepers, which constitute crimes against humanity under international law,” said Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and head of MINUSMA.
“This heinous act of terrorism is even more shocking as it was perpetrated there during the International Day of Peacekeepers,” said Annadi.
Annadi urged that every effort be made to identify those responsible for these crimes against friendly forces of Mali and the Malian Armed Forces, five of whom were also killed last Friday.
In the wake of the deadly ambush, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council (UNSC) also condemned the incident, with the UN chief calling for swift action to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.
“Ki-moon observes with sadness that this latest attack on MINUSMA has taken place on the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, when the men and women serving under the United Nations flag with honour, courage and dedication are to be honoured,” said a statement issued by his spokesperson, referring to the annual May 29 commemoration, declared by the UN General Assembly in 2003.
The statement also underscored that the UN Secretary-General recalled, once again, that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.
– African News Agency