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Five U.N. soldiers killed in central Mali attack
UN peacekeepers stand guard in the northern town of Kouroume, Mali, May 13, 2015. Kourome is 18 km (11 miles) south of Timbuktu. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Adama Diarra
30/05/2016
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Five United Nations peacekeepers from Togo were killed and one other was seriously injured in an ambush in central Mali on Sunday, the United Nations said.
The soldiers of the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were in a convoy which was attacked 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of Sevaré, the U.N. said.
No group has taken responsibility for the attack.
It came 10 days after five MINUSMA peacekeepers from Chad were killed in an ambush in the northern region of Kidal. Two days ago five Malian soldiers were killed near the town of Gao.
"I condemn in the strongest terms this despicable crime," said MINUSMA head Mahamat Saleh Annadif.
MINUSMA and French forces have been stationed in northern Mali for three years since separatists joined jihadists to seize the region from the government in Bamako.
The militants have staged a series of high profile attacks in the past year, mainly in the north of the country, but also in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.
A peace accord signed last year was meant to bring stability to the region, but attacks against the U.N. mission, Malian military and civilians are still frequent.
(Reporting By Adama Diarra and Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
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