Beijing urges probe into attack in Mali

Beijing has called for an immediate and thorough investigation into an attack in Mali on June 1 that killed one United Nations peacekeeper from China and injured four others, the Foreign Ministry said.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has sent its deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the victims and their families, and "strongly condemns the grave crime, which was aimed at UN peacekeeping personnel".

"We urge the Malian government and the UN to immediately conduct an investigation into the terrorist attack and bring the perpetrators to justice," she said.

Al-Qaida's North African branch has claimed responsibility for the attack, the United States-based monitoring group SITE said.

"Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb reported that its al-Murabitoun battalion engaged in a clash with 'Crusader occupation forces'," which refers to the UN mission in Mali, Agence France-Presse quoted SITE as saying.

Al-Murabitoun, led by one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has claimed responsibility for several attacks in sub-Saharan Africa.

Soldiers with a UN peacekeeping mission have been stationed in northern Mali for three years, along with French forces, after separatists joined jihadists to seize the region from the government in Bamako, Reuters reported.

Li Wentao, an expert on Africa studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, says Chinese UN peacekeeping forces in Africa have contributed greatly to ensure local peace and stability.

"It is an inevitable trend that China will continue to contribute to UN peacekeeping in the future as a responsible nation," he says.

However, he adds, it is important for permanent members of the UN Security Council to reach consensus and push forward political settlement of the conflicts in Mali and other African countries.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/03/2016 page3)