Lhe spokesperson for the UN mission in Mali, Olivier Salgado, announced on social media this Friday the death of two peacekeepers. These soldiers were part of the Egyptian contingent of Minusma (the UN mission in Mali), said a security official. Two other soldiers were injured, added Olivier Salgado. The explosion occurred near Douentza (Centre), on the axis leading to Timbuktu (North). These are the second and third blue helmets killed in three days. A Jordanian soldier died in an attack with small arms and rocket launchers against the convoy in which he was on Wednesday in Kidal (North).
�� Unfortunately, we learn that 2 peacekeepers succumbed to their IED injuries this morning.
The Head of MINUSMA condemned this attack https://t.co/ebsMI6ZLwz
— Olivier Salgado (@olivier_salgado) June 3, 2022
With more than 12,000 soldiers deployed in this country plunged into turmoil since the outbreak of jihadist and separatist insurgencies in 2012, Minusma is the most deadly UN mission in the world. Since its creation in 2013, 174 of its peacekeepers have died in hostile acts. Improvised explosive devices (IED) are a weapon of choice for jihadists against Minusma as well as Malian forces. They also kill many civilians.
Bloody violence causing thousands of deaths
Seven Togolese peacekeepers in a logistics convoy were killed by the explosion of such a device in December 2021 between Douentza and Sévaré. Friday, the peacekeepers were in an escort of a dozen UN vehicles which accompanied a convoy of civilian trucks carrying fuel, said Olivier Salgado. Such convoys can stretch for miles. A mine exploded as the convoy passed, reported Olivier Salgado. Such mines can jump on contact with a wheel or be operated remotely.
Central Mali is one of the main centers of violence bloodying the Sahel. Starting in the north, this violence spread to the center as well as to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. They killed thousands of civilians and combatants and displaced hundreds of thousands. Two reports made public this week, one from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the other from the human rights division of Minusma, are alarmed at an intensification of violence in the Center as well as the North.
