20 peacekeepers wounded after attack on their camp in Mali
The temporary base of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was attacked at 7 a.m. local time. The base is located in an area of high jihadist activity, near Kéréna, in the vicinity of Douentza. UN mission spokesman Olivier Salgado announced that "peacekeepers came under direct and indirect fire from unknown assailants at around 7:00 a.m. local time". Salgado himself explained that Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of MINUSMA, "strongly condemns this cowardly attack on peacekeepers and has ensured that all necessary measures are taken to ensure that the wounded receive adequate care".
According to various sources, the wounded are part of the Togolese MINUSMA contingent and some of them are seriously injured. The official communiqué states that the "forceful response" of their soldiers managed to repel the assault and forced the assailants to flee, leaving no casualties among the enemy. The combined attack consisted of an initial explosion, followed by a firefight. Although the perpetrators are unknown, the modus operandi appears similar to that used by the Defence of Islam and Muslims Group (Jnim in Arabic), a staunch ally of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group. Last Sunday, this affiliate once again called on its troops to focus their attacks on Chadian MINUSMA soldiers. Moreover, they claim that their attacks on peacekeepers occur almost daily and that the number of casualties is much higher than official sources report.
Fortunately, in this case there are no deaths to report, as was the case last January due to an attack with improvised explosives, one of the weapons most commonly used by the Jihadists in their offensives. Also in the Boni region, in the south of the country and about 100 kilometres from the border with Burkina Faso, an attack took place last week, leaving a total of 10 people of Malian descent dead. This attack was also attributed to the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims.
The MINUSMA mission has become the deadliest mission in the world, according to the UN itself. Since its creation in 2014, 225 people have been killed by the continuous attacks orchestrated by the various jihadist groups in the region. They often use booby traps, bombings of their barracks or road ambushes.
Mali, like the other regions of the Sahel - a transitional zone spanning the space between the Sahara desert in the north and the Sudanese savannah in the south - has seen a worrying increase in the number of attacks by both Al-Qaeda affiliates and the self-styled Islamic State, which has further increased inter-communal violence and the displacement of tens of thousands of people.
