UNITED NATIONS, Nov 11 (NNN-XINHUA) – A UN spokeswoman said yesterday that, the mission in Mali reported 243 civilians killed, 77 injured and 55 abducted or missing, in the latest three-month tally.
Stephanie Tremblay, an associate spokeswoman for UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said, the mission, known as MINUSMA, documented 375 violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law. It represents a 20 percent decrease compared to the previous quarterly humanitarian report, on trends in violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Tremblay said, the latest quarterly report, issued on Wednesday and covering from Jul 1 to Sept 30, said that, of the 375 victims documented, 10 percent were women and one percent were children. Extremist groups continued to be the main perpetrators.
“The UN mission welcomes efforts made by the Malian authorities, to combat impunity, including the announcement of the opening of investigations into allegations of violations attributed to the Malian defence and security forces,” she said. “The mission continues to actively support national efforts, to ensure greater respect for human rights, and to end impunity, including through training and capacity-building.”
Mali, one of the poorest countries on the fringe of the Sahel, and suffers raids from extremist groups, some of which are based in the Sahara Desert.– NNN-XINHUA
