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Several UN peacekeepers injured in an attack in central Mali

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but militants linked to Al Qaeda and Daesh group stage regular attacks on UN peacekeepers and soldiers.

AFP

Troops of the Malian army patrol the road between Mopti and Djenne in central Mali on February 28, 2020.

A United Nations mission spokesperson has said that an attack on a UN base in central Mali has injured at least 20 peacekeepers.

The temporary UN base in Kerena, near Douentza, was the target of direct and indirect fire early Wednesday morning, Olivier Salgado said in a statement on Twitter.

Special representative of the secretary general for Mali and head of the mission there, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, “strongly condemns this cowardly attack on the peacekeepers and has ensured that all measures are taken to ensure that the wounded receive appropriate treatment,” Salgado said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but militants linked to Al Qaeda and Daesh stage regular attacks on UN peacekeepers and soldiers.

Attacks by militants in northern Mali this year have also killed at least five UN peacekeepers.

I strongly condemn today's attack on a @UN_MINUSMA base in central #Mali, which caused injuries to 20 @UNPeacekeeping personnel. It is unacceptable that our committed peacekeepers keep coming under fire while simply carrying out their mandates.
— UN GA President (@UN_PGA) February 10, 2021

The peacekeeping mission has been in Mali since 2013, after militants took control of major towns in the north. A French-led military operation dislodged them, but the militants have since regrouped in rural areas and expanded their reach.

The UN says more than 231 peacekeepers in Mali have been killed due to hostile incidents, in what has become known as its most dangerous mission.