UN condemns attacks on two peacekeepers

China Daily | Updated: 2018-10-29 07:59

UNITED NATIONS - The Security Council on Saturday condemned attacks against UN peacekeepers in Mali that left two soldiers dead and several others wounded.

An attack on a UN camp outside of Timbuktu killed two peacekeepers from Burkina Faso and injured 11 others, and four peacekeepers from Togo were injured in a convoy attack near Konna, a town in Mopti region, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said earlier on Saturday.

Members of the Security Council in a press statement expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to victims' families, as well as to the government of Burkina Faso and to the UN mission known by its French acronym as MINUSMA. They further expressed solidarity to the government of Togo.

"I strongly condemn this brutal attack, which will not dent our determination to support Mali in its march towards peace," said MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif in the statement.

The members called on the Mali government to investigate the attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law, said the members, stressing that involvement in planning, directing, sponsoring or conducting attacks against MINUSMA peacekeepers constitutes, pursuant to Security Council resolutions, a basis for sanctions designations.

The members expressed their concern about security situation in Mali and transnational terrorist threat in Sahel region, urging Malian parties to fully implement the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation ("the Agreement") in Mali without further delay.

The Malian government in 2015 signed the Agreement with pro-government militias and some rebel groups in a bid to end hostilities and launch development programs in the troubled northern Mali, as well as to restore peace and stability to the country.

Members of the Security Council stressed that these heinous acts will not undermine their determination to support the peace and reconciliation process in Mali.

Xinhua - AFP

(China Daily 10/29/2018 page12)