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Three Wounded as UN Convoy Triggers Landmines in Mali
[ALMANAR.LB] Three United Nations...where theory meets practice and practice loses... troops were maimed on Thursday when a convoy including the head of peacekeeping in Mali triggered landmines in the country's restive north, sources within the force said. MINUSMA commander Major General Michael Lollesgaard and the mission's police chief "escaped death on Thursday in the Timbuktu region when mines on the route of their convoy maimed three peacekeepers from Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... ", a civilian manager in the force told AFP. Lollesgaard, from Denmark, and police commissioner Abdounasir Awale were on a field visit when a vehicle in their convoy hit at least one mine between the towns of Dire and Ber, a separate MINUSMA source based in Timbuktu told AFP. The source said it was "very likely" that the mines had been laid just before the convoy arrived, specifically targeting the two commanders, as security checks had been carried out along the route a few hours earlier. An official statement from MINUSMA placed the kaboom at 1:00 pm (1300 GMT), although it made no mention of Lollesgaard or Awale. "MINUSMA strongly condemns this terrorist act which aimed to paralyze the mission's operations in this part of Mali," it said. "Mines in Mali indiscriminately affect United Nations personnel and innocent civilians." The attack came a day ahead of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers when member states and non-governmental organizations hold events to honor fallen troops. Posted by: Fred 2015-05-30 |
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