Three killed in rocket attack on United Nations base in Mali
The gun and mortar attack left 20 people injured.
Boko Haram extremists Saturday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing of a procession of hundreds of Shi’ite Muslims and threatened more attacks on opponents of its radical form of Islam.
“They fired rockets from around 4:00am inside the MINUSMA camp”, Olivier Salgado, deputy chief of communication in the peacekeeping mission, said.
Three people were killed and others were injured Saturday in an attack on a United Nations base in Mali, according to media reports.
The Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), the Al Mourabitoun, and the Massina Liberatin Front (MLF) claimed responsibility for the attack on the Radission Blu hotel last week. Ansar Dine extremists claimed the pre-dawn attack on the camp in Kidal, a week after a deadly siege at a Bamako hotel shocked the country.
Killed in the assault were two blue helmets from Guinea Conakry and a civilian employee of the base, located in northern Mali, while at least three of the wounded are in critical condition.
“The earth vibrated, then I saw two flares in the air, and then another one burst, which gave me the impression of being a response by the U.N.”, Assarid Ag Cheick said.
About a week ago, gunmen stormed a hotel in Bamako, the country’s capital, killing 19.
In a statement to the press, the members of the Security Council also called on the Government to swiftly investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators, and they also underscored such targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes. Yet violence disperse and has continued into once safe areas in the south.
Mali is now in the process of restoring democracy with the help of the United Nations and African regional bodies, including the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In 2015, it has broadened the scope of its attacks from Nigeria into the neighbouring nations of Niger, Cameroon and Chad.