UNITED NATIONS, October 3 (RIA Novosti) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned the killing of nine United Nations peacekeepers from Niger in northern Mali.
“The Secretary-General is shocked and outraged by today’s attack in Mali that killed nine Nigerien peacekeepers on 3 October,” the statement said.
The UN called the incident “the deadliest attack committed against the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali to date,” adding that the killing brought the total number of casualties from hostile acts since the beginning of the mission on July 1, 2013 to 30 peacekeepers killed and 90 peacekeepers wounded.
“The Secretary-General underscores that attacks on UN peacekeepers constitute a serious violation of international law. He reminds the armed groups operating in Northern Mali of their commitment to cooperate with the United Nations to prevent attacks against peacekeepers in line with their declaration of 16 September in Algiers. At a time when peace negotiations are underway, he insists that all parties must demonstrate good faith and commitment to a political solution and that the perpetrators of these appalling actions are brought to justice,” the statement said.
The peacekeepers were attacked between the towns of Menaka and Ansongo in the Gao region earlier on Friday.
This attack follows another incident in the Kidal Region, in northern Mali, on September 2 that killed four peacekeepers and wounded 14 others.
