UN Security Council condemns deadly attack against peacekeepers in Mali

The United Nations Security Council Tuesday condemned "in the strongest terms" the attacks targeting peacekeepers in northern Mali, which killed one Chadian blue helmet and injured two others.

A camp of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in Aguelhoc, the Kidal region, was attacked by mortar shells on Monday, leading to casualties among the peacekeepers.

In a statement, the council called on the government of Mali "to swiftly investigate these attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice," stressing that "attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law."

The 15-member UN body also expressed their concern about the security situation in Mali and urged the Malian parties



to fully implement the peace agreement signed in 2015.

MINUSMA has become a frequent target of terrorist attacks in Mali and is known as the deadest active UN mission. It is mandated with tasks of supporting and monitoring the implementation of a peace deal in Mali.

Mali has struggled with instability for years and the country's peace process has been slow and fragile. Last week, a suicide bomb attack ripped a military camp shared by Malian parties cooperating on the peace deal, making the situation even worse.

Injured people leave the site of a suicide attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 25, 2017. Many people are feared dead as a massive car explosion hit a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu early Wednesday, witnesses and police said.