In an attack on a UN base in northeastern Mali, at least ten peacekeepers from Chad were killed on Sunday. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced, the base in Aguelhok has been attacked by numerous armed assailants. The soldiers defended themselves against the "complex attack" to the defense. Guterres condemned the attack.
In the fighting at least ten Chadian soldiers were killed and 25 others were injured, it said in the statement on. Minusma leader Mahamat Saleh Annadif spoke of a "shameful and criminal attack". The identity of the attackers is still unclear.
The fighters used in the attack in the northeastern town Aguelhok also numerous vehicles that were equipped with weapons, as the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma announced. Islamist extremists in the Sahel zone often use machine guns on flatbed trucks.
Since 2013, 100 soldiers have been killed in Mali
The West African Mali has been a staging area for Islamist groups since 2012, who then took control of the north of the country. The former colonial power France intervened militarily in 2013 and pushed back the Islamists.
But the more than 13,000 blue-helmet soldiers are repeatedly the target of attacks. The base in Aguelhok, 200 kilometers north of the city of Kidal on the road to the Algerian border, was last attacked in April 2018. Two blue helmet soldiers were killed and several others were injured.
Since 2013, more than 100 UN soldiers have been killed in Mali. The Bundeswehr is also involved in the effort to stabilize the West African country. The soldiers are mostly stationed in Gao, about 400 kilometers south of Aguelhok. Especially in the north of the country, characterized by the Sahara and the southern bordering Sahel, numerous Islamist groups are active. Some of them have ties to Al Qaeda, others have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State.