UN Secretary-General Condemns 'Despicable' Suicide Attack in Mali

UN Secretary-general Anotnio Guterres condemns the suicide-vehicle attack on the operational mechanism camp in Mali which only reinforces UN support for the country’s peace quest, Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a press release.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — The exact number of casualties is yet to be confirmed however preliminary reports indicate "dozens of dead and dozens of injured".

"The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the suicide-vehicle attack perpetrated against the camp of the Operational Coordination Mechanism this morning in Gao," Dujarric stated on Wednesday. "This despicable act reinforces the United Nations' determination to support the people of Mali, the Government and the signatory armed groups in their quest for peace."

According to the statement, the camp housed more than 600 people sent by the three parties that signed the peace agreement to start mixed patrols in Gao region.

Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 military coup, which was triggered by the government's failure to deal with a separatist Tuareg uprising in the country's north. The revolt then attracted Islamist groups, including Ansar Dine, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). Islamist forces have been pushed back after France got involved in 2013. MINUSMA was launched in April the same year.

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