UNITED NATIONS, Nov 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Six UN peacekeepers were injured in explosions hitting their convoy and are being treated in Sevare, Mali, said a UN spokeswoman.
The blue helmets from Togo were injured after their convoy was hit by two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the Douentza region in the Dangol Bore commune, said Stephanie Tremblay, an associate spokeswoman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Two armored vehicles in the convoy were damaged.
“The rest of the convoy arrived in Mopti yesterday (Sunday) evening with no further incident reported,” Tremblay said.
In a tweet over the weekend, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, El-Ghassim Wane, noted that the incidents illustrate the ever-present threat of IEDs but would not weaken the resolve of the UN mission, known as MINUSMA, to continue protecting the population.
The mission was established to help stabilize one of the least developed countries in the world on the edge of the Sahara Desert, troubled by political instability and attacks by extremists in the Sahel. — NNN-XINHUA
