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Peacekeepers killed in attack on UN northern Mali base
[France24] Gunmen killed at least ten Chadian UN peacekeepers and injured 25 others in an attack Sunday on one of their bases in northern Mali, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres confirmed an information previously announced by a source close to the MINUSMA force. Guterres strongly condemned what he described as a "complex attack" on the UN peace mission's camp in Aguelhok, 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Kidal and towards the border with Algeria. "Ten peacekeepers from Chad were killed and at least 25 injured," said a statement from UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "MINUSMA forces responded robustly and a number of assailants were killed," Dujarric said, without specifying the toll. An al Qaeda-linked Islamist group grabbed credit for the attack. The Nusrat al-Islam wal Moslemeen group said the attack was a response to Chadian President Idriss Deby's revival of diplomatic relations with Israel in a statement posted on Telegram. Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the UN envoy for Mali, condemned what he called a "vile and criminal" attack."Peacekeepers of the MINUSMA force at Aguelhok fought off a sophisticated attack by assailants who arrived on several armed vehicles," he said in a statement. The attack "illustrates the determination of the terrorists to sow chaos." Posted by: Besoeker 2019-01-21 |
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