Attacks on two UN bases in Mali leave at least 9 dead

Head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the west African country says these were "terror" attacks that claimed the lives of a peacekeeper, a contractor and seven Malians.

The peacekeeping mission in Mali is considered the deadliest of the UNs 16 global peacekeeping operations.
Reuters

The peacekeeping mission in Mali is considered the deadliest of the UNs 16 global peacekeeping operations.

Unidentified gunmen attacked two UN bases in Mali on Monday, killing a UN peacekeeper, a contractor and seven Malians, the UN said, in the latest attacks on its presence in the country.

The UN peacekeeper and a Malian soldier were killed in an early morning attack in Douentza, in the central region of Mopti, according to a mission in the country, known by the acronym MINUSMA.

Hours later, six men with guns and grenades drove up to the entrance of the UN mission in Timbuktu in northwestern Mali, the UN announced in a separate statement.

They opened fire on Malian UN security guards, killing five of them, as well as a civilian contractor whose nationality was not specified, the UN said in a separate statement.

According to the AFP news agency, which quoted UN sources, six guards had been killed, but the statement said one was wounded but had then died.

We mourn the loss of a United Nations peacekeeper killed in Mali earlier this morning while serving with our Mission des...

Posted by United Nations Peacekeeping on Monday, August 14, 2017

"Terrorist attack"

"An attack has been launched against one of our camps in Timbuktu [by] unknown men with machine guns," said Radhia Achouri, a spokeswoman for the UN peacekeeping mission. 

The UN mission said that it had deployed a rapid response force with helicopters to the scene.

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, called Monday's incidents a "terrorist attack."

Mali's army spokesman Selon Diaran Kone said that the incident was now over, as the assailants had been repelled and four of them killed.

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Deadly UN mission

There is no clarity on how many attackers were killed by the peacekeepers. However, it is suspected two gunmen were killed in the Douentza attack and six in Timbuktu. 

The peacekeeping mission in Mali, where over 100 peacekeepers have been killed so far, is considered the deadliest of the UN's 16 global peacekeeping operations.

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