Around 10,000 UN Peacekeepers from countries around the world are stationed in Mali
Image: Yahoo News
A week after the deadly attacks on a hotel in Barnako, the capital of Mali, where gunmen killed 19 people and took tens of others as hostage before intervention, militants were on the move once again come Saturday, as they launched a rocket attack on the UN peacekeeping base in Kidal, Mali. The world’s largest UN peacekeeping mission, the Mali base is home to around 10,000 military men from several countries from around the world, contributing to the UN Security Agenda. A majority of them are from West African countries like Mali.
In this brutal rocket attack, two soldiers from Guinea and a civilian contractor were left dead. Around 14 other Peacekeepers were severely injured. The peacekeeping mission was accepted in late 2014, when France had led strikes against Islamist militants, mostly those of Boko Haram, in Northern Mali. these militants are also allegedly the culprits of the attack on Saturday.
Known as the Minusma Force, the Mali mission has been known to be the ‘most dangerous’ force in the world, because it has faced more casualties than any other mission, that is, the loss of 56 troops. It has been a bone of contention amongst authorities, since there is no official peace deal to support its formation. Confirmed a Peacekeeper-in-charge,” Our camp in Kidal was attacked early this morning by terrorists using rockets.”
This comes as just one more terrorist attack in Mali, a country with has seen militant groups rise to power after migrating to the country for the past several years. Beginning with Ethnic Tuaregs (Libya-returned militants) rebellion in 2011, links to organizations like the al-Quaeda grew and terrorist attacks in the region have been common ever since, with the Mali UN force struggling to cope until the Kidal mission was formed.
Source: BBC
Tags: attack on UN base Kidal Mali
