UN mission ambushed in Mali
October 3, 2014
The Nigerian peacekeepers were heading from the northeastern town of Menaka to Asongo on Friday morning when they came under attack by unidentified armed men on motorbikes, a spokesman for the UN mission, known as Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA), told the Reuters news agency.
"This morning, a convoy of MINUSMA peacekeepers from the Nigerien contingent was the target of a direct attack while travelling to Indelimane in the Menaka-Asongo corridor. A provisional toll indicated nine deaths," a statement from the UN mission said.
According to Arnauld Akodjenou, MINUSMA's deputy special representative, the mission deployed "major air assets" to secure the area and assist other peacekeepers immediately after the attack.
No group claimed responsibility for the Friday attack, but one of the missions' Nigerien officers told the news agency AFP that it was likely carried out by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, an al Qaeda-linked militia behind a number of violent attacks in northern Mali in recent years. The UN mission previously confirmed that an al Qaeda terrorist cell was believed to be located in the region.
A spike in attacks
The UN peacekeeping mission has been deployed across northern Mali to secure the vast desert zone that was under the control of al Qaeda-linked Islamists until 2012.
With the help of international troops, Mali was able to hold elections last year. But there has been a surge in violence since France withdrew some of its forces from the area.
Four peacekeepers were killed and 15 were injured last month when their convoy hit a landmine between the northern cities of Kidal and Aguelhok. Last month, a roadside bomb killed five Chadian soldiers and wounded several others near Kidal.
shs/glb (AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP)