Two members of the peacekeeping force of the United Nations Mission in Mali were killed today, Friday, in the explosion of an improvised explosive device in the center of the country, the mission’s spokesman Olivier Salgado announced on social networks.
A security official said that the two soldiers were part of the Egyptian battalion operating within the framework of the United Nations Mission (MINUSMA). Salgado added that two other soldiers were wounded.
“This is the sixth incident in which a convoy of UN peacekeepers has been attacked since May 22,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The explosion occurred near Douentza (central) on the axis of the roads leading to the city of Timbuktu (north). They are the second and third peacekeepers to be killed in three days.
A Jordanian soldier succumbed to being wounded by a light weapon or a rocket launcher on a convoy he was in on Wednesday in Kidal (North).
With more than 12,000 troops deployed in this country, MINUSMA is the UN mission that has lost the largest number of personnel in the world.
Since its establishment in 2013, 174 peacekeepers have been killed in hostile acts.
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