Peacek­eepers respon­d by killin­g an assail­ant and appreh­ending eight others­BAMAKO: A UN peacekeeper was killed and four others wounded on Saturday when a mine exploded as their convoy passed through central Mali, the UN mission in the country said. The blast hit part of the Egyptian contingent of the UN force close to the Burkina Faso border, the UN stabilisation mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said. The peacekeeper killed was Egyptian. MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif called it a “cowardly attack.”More than 130 killed in Mali massacre as UN visitsUN chief Antonio Guterres’s office issued a statement saying the UN peacekeepers “responded, killing an assailant and apprehending eight others”. Since their deployment in 2013, more than 190 peacekeepers have died in Mali, including nearly 120 killed by hostile action – making MINUSMA the UN’s deadliest peacekeeping operation, accounting for more than half of blue helmets killed globally in the past five years.

Source: The Express Tribune April 21, 2019 06:11 UTC