Eight peacekeepers from the United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were wounded Thursday in the explosion of a mine in the Timbuktu region, plagued by violence by jihadist groups, the UN said.
The wounded are part of the Burkinabe contingent of MINUSMA, a UN official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “A security patrol of peacekeepers hit a mine/explosive device today around 1 p.m. [as much in GMT] around Ber,” about fifty kilometers from Timbuktu, tweeted MINUSMA spokesman Olivier Salgado.
All eight peacekeepers were evacuated, he added. In June, four peacekeepers were killed by explosive devices, one of the jihadists’ weapons of choice against MINUSMA and Malian forces. One of them died on Sunday in Kidal. With some 13,000 troops, MINUSMA, created in 2013 to support the Malian political process, is the UN peacekeeping mission that has suffered the most casualties.
#Mali Une patrouille de sécurisation des Casques bleus a heurté une mine / engin explosif aujourd'hui vers 13h aux environs de #Ber (région #Tombouctou) 8 soldats de la paix ont été blessés et viennent d'être évacués. Nous leur souhaitons un prompt et complet rétablissement. pic.twitter.com/8SPMVnuFiF
— Olivier Salgado 🇺🇳 (@olivier_salgado) June 23, 2022
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Source: Africa Radio